GLAUS   SPRECKELS  FUND 


THE   LOYALISTS 


IN  THE 


AMERICAN   REVOLUTION 


BY 

CLAUDE  HALSTEAD  VAN  TYNE 

SENIOR  FELLOW  IN  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 


OF 

UNIVEP 

OF 


Neto  ¥orft : 
THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

LONDON:  MACMILLAN  &  Co.,  LTD. 
1902 


COPYRIGHT,  1902 
BY  THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 


Set  up  and  electrotyped,  October,  1902 


SPRECKELS 


PRESS  OF 

-It   NEW   ERA   PRINTING  COMPANY, 
LANCASTER,   PA. 


TO    MY  MOTHER 


100788 


PREFACE. 

THE  formation  of  the  Toiy  or  Loyalist  party  in 
tue  American  Revolution ;  its  persecution  by  the 
Whigs  during  a  long  and  fratricidal  war,  and  the 
banishment  or  death  of  over  one  hundred  thousand 
of  these  most  conservative  and  respectable  Ameri 
cans  is  a  tragedy  but  rarely  paralleled  in  the  history 
of  the  world.  The  consequences  of  their  banish 
ment  are  not  so  easily  seen  as  were  the  results  of 
the  expulsion  of  the  Moors  from  Spain  or  the  exile 
of  the  Huguenots  from  France,  but  that  there  were 
penalties  and,  perhaps,  rewards  consequent  upon 
their  removal  is  a  conclusion  hardly  to  be  denied. 
In  the  case  of  the  Moors  and  of  the  Huguenots  the 
loss  to  their  abandoned  fatherland  was  economic 
and  tangible,  but  in  the  case  of  the  Loyalists  the 
speculations  of  the  historian  are  made  more  danger 
ous,  because  the  probable  political  and  social  results 
are  of  so  much  subtler  a  nature.  We  may  only 
venture  the  suggestion  that  the  youthful  errors  of 
the  American  republic  in  the  matters  of  finance, 
diplomacy  and  politics  might  have  been  in  part  cor 
rected  by  the  presence  of  that  conservative  element 
which  had  either  been  driven  into  exile,  or,  if  per 
mitted  to  remain,  was  long  deprived  of  political  and 

vii 


viii  PREFACE. 

social  influence,  because  of  an  unremitting  intoler 
ance.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  result  of  their 
elimination,  however,  the  story  of  the  origin  and 
evolution  of  the  party  can  lose  none  of  its  dramatic 
interest. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  work  on  the  Loyalists 
there  was  a  temptation  to  go  over  the  usual  ground 
of  a  history  of  the  Revolution,  and,  doubtless,  the 
dramatic  interest  could  have  been  attained  only  by 
so  doing  ;  but  such  a  treatment  would  have  greatly 
increased  the  volume  of  this  work,  and  would  have 
buried  the  real  contributions  to  our  knowledge  of 
the  American  Revolution  in  a  mass  of  well-known 
facts  concerning  the  campaigns  and  historic  per 
sonages.  Except,  therefore,  in  chapters  one,  two, 
four  and  five,  there  is  a  departure  from  the  regular 
treatment  of  the  logical  growth  of  the  Revolution. 
In  those  chapters  the  activity  of  the  Loyalists  can 
be  best  understood  in  the  regular  setting  of  the 
revolutionary  history.  The  remaining  chapters 
treat  of  matters  necessary  for  an  understanding  of 
the  Revolution,  but  hitherto,  for  the  most  part, 
neglected,  and  in  many  cases  inaccessible. 

The  material  out  of  which  the  work  has  been 
constructed  has  been  gathered  in  the  main  from 
original  sources.  The  laws  of  each  of  the  thirteen 
colonies  during  the  whole  period  of  the  Revo 
lution  have  been  carefully  examined.  The  Charle 
magne  Tower  collection  of  laws  in  the  Pennsyl 
vania  Historical  Society  Library,  supplemented 


PREFACE.  1X 

by  that  of  the  New  York   Bar  Association,  made  a 
complete    inspection    of  the    laws    possible.      The 
"Transcript  of  the  Manuscript  Books  and  Papers 
of  the  Commission  of  Enquiry  into  the  Losses  and 
Services  of  the  American  Loyalists,  etc.,"   recently 
undertaken  at  the  expense  of  the  Lenox  Library  of 
New  York,  has  made  it  possible  to  learn  whether 
the  laws  were  really  carried  out  in  all  their  severity. 
The  public  records  of  the  original  states,  so  far  as 
they  have  been  published,  have  also  greatly  aided 
in  this  verification.      In  addition  to  consulting  the 
newspapers  of  the  time  to  establish  definite  facts,  I 
have  made  a  thorough  examination  of  the  files  of  • 
Rivingtoris  Gazette,  the   greatest  Loyal  newspaper, 
from  1774  until  the  close  of  the  war.     T^e  letters 
and  journals  of  the  Loyalists  such  as  Curwen,  Van 
Schaark,  John   Murray  etna   Hutchinson,  and   the 
pamphlets  of  Galloway  and  others  have  been  valu 
able  sources  for  their  political  arguments  and  senti 
ments.      Mr.    Flick's  ^  Loyalism  in   New  York," 
gives  a  bibliographical  note,  which,  supplemented 
by  that  in  Winsor's  "  Narrative  and  Critical  His 
tory  of  America,"   in  the  article  on  the  Loyalists, 
renders  it  unnecessary  to  include  a  bibliography  in\\ 
this  book. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I 
THE  "Soxs  OF  DESPOTISM"  1-26 

CHAPTER  II 
THE  FIRST  EXILES         .  27-59 

CHAPTER  III 
THE  INQUISITION  ....  60-86 

CHAPTER  IV 
THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OLD  FAITM       .  87-107 

CHAPTER  V 
THE  OVERTHROW  OF  THE  LOYAL  STRONGHOLD    .    108-128 

CHAPTER  VI 
THE  POLITICAL  SHIBBOLETH  .  129-145 

CHAPTER  VII 
TRYING  TO  PRESERVE  THE  UNION  .  146-164 

CHAPTER  VIII 
UNDER  THE  STANDARD  OF  THE  KING     .         .         165-189 

CHAPTER  IX 
UNDER  THE  BAN  OF  THE  LAW  190-212 

xi 


CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER  X 


RECONCENTRATION  CAMPS  AND  BANISHMENT  . 

213-242 

CHAPTER  XI 

LIVING  IN  EXILE  

243-267 

CHAPTER  XII 

CHARGED  WITH  TREASON      .... 

268-285 

CHAPTER  XIII 

EXPATRIATION       ...... 

286-307 

APPENDIX  A          ... 

O/"ir\       -5  T  *7 

3o9-3  l  7 

APPENDIX  B           

318-326 

APPENDIX  C           .         .         . 

•327  7/1  T 

Jz/     J41 

INDEX  ........ 

343-360 

CHAPTER    I. 

THE    "SONS    OF    DESPOTISM." 

IN  the  early  days  of  the  American  Revolution, 
when  the  companies  of  patriots  were  rallying  from 
every  part  of  the  country  to  repel  the  British,  a 
regiment  of  militia,  coming  up  from  the  south, 
crossed  the  James  river  at  the  little  town  of  Rich 
mond  in  Virginia.1  While  they  were  passing 
through  the  town,  a  shoemaker  stood  in  his  door 
and  cried  :  "  Hurrah  for  King  George."  No  one 
took  any  notice  of  him  ;  but  after  halting  in  a 
wood,  a  little  distance  beyond,  the  soldiers  were 
cooking  and  eating  some  fish,  when  the  shoemaker 
came  to  them  and  began  again  to  hurrah  for  King 
George.  When  the  commanding  officer  and  his 
aids  mounted  and  were  starting  on,  the  shoemaker 
still  followed,  hurrahing  for  King  George.  There 
upon  the  officer  ordered  the  pertinacious  Tory  to  be 
taken  back  to  the  river  and  "  ducked."  The 
soldiers  brought  a  long  rope  which  they  tied,  about 
the  middle,  around  the  shoemaker's  waist,  and  see 
sawed  him  backward  and  forward  in  the  stream 
until  they  had  him  nearly  drowned ;  but  every 
t;me  he  got  his  head  above  water  he  would  cry  for 
*  "State  Records  of  N.  C,"  Vol.  XI.,  p.  835. 


THE   LOYALISTS. 


King  George.  The  officer  finally  ordered  him  to 
be  tarred  and  feathered.  A  feather-bed  was  taken 
from  the  shoemaker's  own  house,  where  his  wife 
and  four  daughters  were  crying  and  beseeching 
the  father  to  hold  his  tongue  ;  but  still  he  would 
not.  The  soldiers  tore  the  bed  open,  knocked  the 
top  out  of  a  tar  barrel,  and  plunged  the  king-wor 
shipper  in  headlong.  He  was  then  drawn  out  by 
the  heels  and  rolled  in  the  feathers  until  he  was  a 
sight ;  but  still  he  would  hurrah  for  King  George. 
The  officer,  now  thoroughly  aroused,  ordered  the 
fellow  to  be  drummed  out  of  town  with  the  warn 
ing  that  if  he  plagued  him  any  more  he  would  have 
him  shot.  The  sentence  was  executed  and  the 
soldiers  saw  no  more  of  the  shoemaker. 

There  was  a  ludicrous  element  in  the  shoemaker's 
obstinate  loyalty,  but  in  a  more  dignified  character 
the  same  determined  allegiance  could  have  been 
found  in  the  hearts  of  thousands  of  Americans 
in  the  early  days  of  the  Revolution.  With  these 
loyal  subjects  of  the  British  king,  Samuel  Adams 
and  John  Adams  had  to  contend  when  they  set 
about  to  arouse  America  to  rebellion  arid  final  inde 
pendence.  The  great  majority  of  men  could  be 
regarded  as  indifferent,  ready  to  stampede  and  rush 
along  with  the  successful  party ;  yet,  even  among 
the  masses,  this  traditional  love  of  kingship  had  to 
be  reckoned  with  and  combated.  Loyalty  was  the 
normal  condition,  the  state  that  had  existed,  and  dj 
exist;  and  it  was  the  Whigs,-— the  Patriots,  as' 


THE  SONS   OF  DESPOTISM.  3 

called  themselves,—  who  must  do  the  converting, 
the  changing  of  men's  opinions  to  suit  a  new  order 
of  things  which  the  revolutionists  believed  necessary 
for  their  own  and  their  country's  welfare. 

It  is  only  when  we  realize  this  truth  that  we  can 
see  the  folly  of  John  Adams'  theory  of  the  creation 
of  the  Loyalist  Party.  He  failed 


that  it  was  his  party  that  was  created  and  not  the 
Loyalist  party.  He  declared  that  the  British  Gov 
ernment  excited  hopes  and  fears,  avarice  and  ambi 
tion  in  the  breasts  of  those  whose  support  they 
desired.  They  were  promised  honor,  glory,  wealth 
and  power  in  return  for  their  favor.  Their  antago 
nism  was  threatened  with  disgrace,  ruin,  poverty 
and  contempt.  The  menace  included  even  torture 
and  death.  For  ten  years,  Adams  asserted,  "  this* 
pious,  moral  system  was  pursued  with  steady  and 
invariable  perseverance."  In  that  decade,  they 
"  formed  and  organized,  and  drilled  and  disciplined 
a  party  favorable  to  Great  Britain."  In  fact,  he 
concluded,  "  they  seduced  and  deluded  nearly  on<- 
third  of  the  people  of  the  colonies."1 

Had  Adams  spoken  only  of  the  influential  Ameri 
cans  whose  loyalty  England  tried  to  retain  when  the 
troubled  times  came,  he  would  have  shown  a  better 
grasp  of  the  true  state  of  affairs.  In  respect  to  them, 
there  was  a  remarkable  monotony  of  opinion.  Many 
contemporaries  of  that  intolerant  decade  before  the 
Revolution  believed  that  the  British  tried  "  brazing 

i  John  Adams,  "Works,"  Vol.  X.,  193. 


4  THE   LOYALISTS. 

England  and  America  together  by  the  golden  solder 
of  corruption."  1  In  the  petty  court  of  some  co 
lonial  governor  the  gift  of  office  and  contingent 
station  effected  the  same  transformation  of  political 
sympathy  as  in  the  greater  court  in  London.  "  A 
young  man  is  inflamed  with  the  love  of  his  country," 
wrote  an  English  satirist.  "  Liberty  charms  him. 
He  speaks,  writes  and  drinks  for  her.  He  searches 
records,  draws  remonstrances,  fears  prerogative.  A 
secretary  of  the  treasury  waits  on  him  in  the  even 
ing.  He  appears  next  morning  at  a  ministers'  levee. 
He  goes  to  court,  is  captivated  by  the  King's  affa 
bility,  moves  an  address,  drops  a  censure  on  the 
liberty  of  the  press,  kisses  hands  for  a  place,  .  .  . 
votes  against  Magna  Charta,  builds  a  house  in  town, 
•lays  his  farm  into  pleasure  grounds  .  .  .  pays 
nobody,  games,  is  undone,  asks  a  reversion  for 
three  lives,  is  refused,  finds  the  constitution  in 
danger  and  becomes  a  patriot  once  more."  2  Not 
all  of  the  crown  officers  in  America  deserved  this 
cynical  sketch,  but  the  type  was  well  represented. 
The  "  herd  of  worthless  parasites  "  was  too  often 


sent  to  America  "  to  fatten  on  a  larger  ^fieldi'i'.^^  <" 
Besides  the  mere  place-men  there  were  "tire  dig- 


1 


ified  and  worthy  gentlemen  who  held  office  by 
virtue  of  a  wise  selection.  These  officers  good  and 
bad  were  the  backbone  of  the  Tory  party  ir 
America.  Hardly  to  be  distinguished  from  t 

1  "The  Remembrancer,"  Part  III.,  46. 

2  The  Spectator,  Sunday,  January  19,  1772.    Quoted  by  Trevelyan. 


THE  SONS   OF  DESPOTISM.  5 

official  class  were  the  clergy  of  the  Established 
Church,  who  were  also  dependent  for  their  livings 
upon  the  British  Government.  The  officers  and 
clergy  received  the  support  of  the  landowners  and 
the  substantial  business  men,  the  men  who  were 
satisfied  with  the  existing  order  of  things.  The 
aristocracy  of  culture,  of  dignified  professions  and 
callings,  of  official  rank  and  hereditary  wealth  was 
in  a  large  measure  found  in  the  Tory  party .x  The 
reports  that  have  come  down  to  us  of  their  cere 
monious  dress  reveal  the  elegance  which  envy 
chose  to  regard  as  the  reward  of  their  servility. 
The  description  glows  with  the  words  but  not  the 
sanction  of  Enobarbus.  One  wore  broad  gold  lace 
about  the  rim  of  his  hat,  and  his  cloak  glittered 
with  laces  still  broader.  He  set  up  a  chariot  and 
pair  and  constantly  traveled  in  it.1  Green  and  gold 
and  purple  and  gold  was  the  daily  wear  of  a  cer 
tain  wealthy  Tory  merchant.  The  Governor  oi 
Rhode  Island  would  wear  no  wig  unless  made  m 
England  and  of  pattern  and  size  worn  by  the  speak  cjj 
in  the  House  of  Commons.  Such  worthy  and  un 
worthy  men  of  high  social  position  were  the  leaders 
of  the  earliest  opposition  to  the  rising  rebellion  ; 
but,  it  is  to  be  remembered,  they  only  strove  to  ^ 
keep  things  as  they  were.  Supporting  them  was * 
the  natural  conservatism  of  all  prosperous  men. 
The  men  who  had  abilities,  which  could  not  be  I 

i Tyler,     "Literary    History    of   the    American    Revolution," 
I.,  358. 


6  THE   LOYALISTS. 

recognized  under  the  existing  regime,  were  they 
who  -  were  striving  to  bring  about  a  change  —  a 
revolution. 

It  is  plain  that  the  political  action  of  the  well- 
to-do  men  would  be  conservative.  Were  they  offi 
cers,  they  pushed  stubbornly  ahead  in  the  execution 
of  orders  from  England ;  were  they  merchants, 
they  trusted  in  King  George  and  let  rebellion  fry. 
Now  and  then  the  unbridled  action  of  the  mob 
aroused  them  for  a  moment.  When,  in  1765,  a 
crowd  surrounded  the  elegant  house  of  the  Massa 
chusetts  customs'  officer,  tore  down  his  fences, 
broke  his  windows,  and  at  last  forced  the  doors, 
destroying  his  furniture,  stealing  his  money,  scatter 
ing  his  books  and  papers,  and  drinking  the  wines 
in  his  cellar  to  drunkenness — then  for  the  moment 
the  Tories  shuddered  at  the  power  of  the  enraged 
democracy.1  Indeed,  a  prominent  Tory,  remarking 
that  his  party  had  been  censured  for  remissness  in 
not  having  exerted  themselves  sufficiently  in  the 
early  period,  replied,  that  the  truth  of  the  case  was 
that  they  saw  and  shuddered  at  the  gathering  storm, 
but  durst  not  attempt  to  dispel  it  lest  it  should 
burst  on  their  own  heads.2  They  received  many 
intimations  that  their  interference  would  not  be 
tolerated.  Incidents  such  as  that  related  by  James 
Murray  were  common.  When,  one  evil  day,  a 

1  "Letters  of  James  Murray,  Loyalist,"  p.  137. 

2  "  Massachusettensis "    in  Rivingtori*  s   Gazette,    December  29, 
1774.     Copied  from  Massachusetts  Gazette. 


THE   SONS   OF  DESPOTISM.  7 

loyal  friend  got  into  trouble,  Mr.  Murray  went  into 
court  to  go  bail  for  him,  and  the  displeased  crowd 
hissed  him.  As  he  was  leaving  the  room,  his  wig 
was  pulled  off,  and  his  "  pate  clean-shaved  by  time  " 
was  left  exposed.  While  he  was  led  away  in  dis 
may,  the  mob  kept  "  nibbling  "  at  his  heels  and  try 
ing  to  trip  him.  With  John  Gilpin,  he  might  have 
feaid  that  his  hat  and  wig  would  soon  be  there,  for 
ttiey  were  upon  the  road.  Behind  him  his  dishev 
eled  wig  was  borne  upon  a  staff  by  an  insulting 
mob.1 

As  a  result  of  such  terrorizing,  it  is  true  that,  dur 
ing  the  troubled  years  that  preceded  1/73,  they 
preserved  for  the  most  part  an  arrogant  silence 


i 

toward  the  argument  of  the  opposition.  Among 
themselves  they  dogmatically  asserted  that  the 
Stamp  Act  was  but  a  spur  to  American  industry, 
but  such  opinions  were  not  for  general  circulation. 
They  left  to  Parliament  the  task  of  actively  nfri- 
bating  the  colonial  theories.  They  fancied  that 
the  British  lion  was  only  playing  with  the  colonial 
mouse  and  could  stop  all  its  antics  at  will.  The 
Boston  Tea  Party,  and  the  events  which  immedi 
ately  preceded  and  followed  it  brought  them  to 
a  sense  of  the  progress  that  revolution  had 
made. 

That  event  had  not  been  unannounced  by  the 
course  of  colonial  affairs.  Boston,  under  the  lead 
of  Samuel  Adams,  had  early  taken  a  decided  stand 

iSee  "James  Murray,  Loyalist,"  p.  161. 


8  THE   LOYALISTS. 

against  the  Townshend  measures.1  Adams'  Ad 
dresses  to  the  Ministry,  his  petition  to  the  king,  and 
his  circular  letter  to  the  legislatures  of  the  other 
colonies  had  been  adopted  by  the  Massachusetts 
Assembly,  and  that  Assembly  for  its  pains  had  been 
prorogued  by  Governor  Bernard.  The  circular 
letters  urged  that  no  taxes  be  levied  except  by  the 
colonial  legislatures.  The  success  of  the  letters 
was  almost  universal.  Merchants,  the  Sons  of 
Liberty,  agreed  not  to  import  the  taxed  goods,  and 
the  Daughters  of  Liberty  promised  that  they  would 
wear  homespun  and  would  not  drink  tea.  The 
legislative  bodies  of  America  were  threatened  with 
suspension,  and  the  Massachusetts  Assembly,  when 
it  was  called  together  and  had  refused  to  rescind, 
was  dissolved  by  Governor  Bernard.  Then  Gage 
was  ordered  to  Boston,  and  ninety-six  Massachu 
setts  towns  sent  delegates  to  Faneuil  Hall  to  decide 
how  to  receive  him.  Two  regiments  of  his  force 
arrived  and  were  compelled  to  hire  barracks.  Then 
followed  the  winter  of  discontent  and,  in  the  spring, 

1  In  1767,  Townshend,  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  introduced 
measures  to  tax  America  in  the  House  of  Commons.  Leading 
Americans  had  distinguished  between  external  and  internal  duties. 
Townshend  resorted  to  port  duties  on  wine,  oil,  and  fruits,  glass, 
paper,  le?  '  colors  and  tea.  The  revenue  was  to  be  used  to  pay  a 
fixed  salary  to  royal  governors.  The  crown  was  to  create  a  civil  list 
and  grant  salaries  and  pensions  at  will.  A  Board  of  Revenue  Com- 
missioneis,  .vi^is  appointed  for  Boston.  General  writs  of  assistance 
were'  legalized.  The  New  York  Assembly  was  suspended  from 
legislative  functions,  until  it  complied  with  instructions  regarding 
the  supplies  for  the  army. 


THE  SONS   OF  DESPOTISM.  9 

the  Boston  Massacre,  with  the  resulting  removal  of 
the  two  regiments.  Meanwhile  all  the  obnoxious 
acts  were  repealed  except  the  tea  duty ;  Bernard 
had  been  recalled  and  Hutchinson  made  governor. 
There  was  nothing  now  to  fight  for  except  a^prirn 
ciple.  Then  it  was  that  the  difference  between  Whigl 
and  Tory  political  philosophy  became  defined. 

Will  not  posterity  be  amazed,  cried  a  Tory  writer, 
when  they  are  told  that  the  present  distraction  took 
its  rise  from  a  three-penny  duty  on  tea?  Will 
they  not  call  it  a  most  unaccountable  frenzy  and 
more  disgraceful  to  the  annals  of  America  than  that 
of  witchcraft  ? l  Besides,  he  urged,  there  is  nothing 
new  in  the  recent  assertion  of  the  taxing  power. 
It  is  not  only  impracticable  for  America  to  send 
members  to  Parliament,  but  there  is  no  principle 
lost  if  we  do  not. 

As  we  can  more  plainly  see  to-day,  the  principle^ 
"  No  taxation  without  representation  "  was  not  vio 
lated  as  it  was  understood  and  practiced  by  Eng 
lishmen  ;  but  as  understood  and  practiced 
nial  affairs  it  was  violated.  America  had  so  far 
outstripped  England  in  political  evolution,  that 
neither  Englishmen  nor  men  recently  immigrated 
from  England  could  understand  American  political 
ideals.  To  the  people  of  England,  representative 
government  meant  the  representation  of  the  classes 
of  the  community.2  Representation  acv.ording  to 

1  "Massachusettensis,"  December  12,  1774. 

2  Charming,  "  History  of  the  United  States,  1765-1865." 


10  THE   LOYALISTS. 

population  was  a  new  idea  born  of  colonial  condi 
tions.  When  the  Americans  objected  to  taxation 
without  representation  the  English  answered  that 
the  colonies  were  represented,  because  the  mer 
chants  interested  in  colonial  trade  were  represented 
as  a  class  in  the  House  of  Commons.  When  the 
colonist  used  the  phrase  "  no  taxation  without  rep 
resentation,"  he  meant  that  taxes  ought  to  be  levied 
only  by  a  legislative  body  in  which  was  seated  a 
person  known  and  voted  for  by  the  person  taxed. 
An  Englishmen  interpreted  the  phrase,  "  no  taxation 
except  that  voted  by  the  House  of  Commons." 
The  mode  of  election  to  that  house,  and  the  inter 
ests  of  the  persons  composing  it,  were  not  consid- 

j  ered.     If  a  Loyalist  understood  the  American  doc 
trine,  he  only  conceded  that  reform  was  necessary 

I  in  England.      He  was  opposed  to  nullification,  and 
wished  to  harmonize,  not  to  disrupt,  the  empire. 

Beyond  the  question  of  constitutional  law  was 
the  question  of  expediency.  The  Whig  held  that 
the  claim  of  the  right  to  tax  was  fraught  with  too 
much  danger  to  be  admitted  even  if  it  were  consti 
tutional.  A  Parliament  that  could  lay  a  tax  of 
three  pence  on  a  pound  of  tea  could  raise  the  tax 
to  a  guinea.  The  Tory  asked  if  that  political 
danger  really  existed.  He  pointed  to  the  fallacy 
of  contesting  the  use  of  power  simply  because  of 
the  possibility  of  abuse.  Parliament  was  subject  to 
the  limitations  of  conscience  and  of  public  opinion. 
The  instincts  of^  the_EnglisL-i^ace  would  prevent 


.      7WE  SONS   OF  DESPOTISM.  II 

oppressioa/  American  interests  had  many  power 
ful  friends  in  Parliament,  and  they  would  defend 
America  from  injustice.  Chatham,  who  was  not  so 
sure  how  many  contemporaries  he  could  get  to  join 
him  in  defending  American  doctrines  with  their 
blood,  asserted  that  among  the  dead  he  could  raise 
up  an  host  innumerable,1  and  he  might  propheti 
cally  have  promised  as  great  a  host  in  the  genera 
tions  of  Englishmen  that  were  to  come. 

It  was  upon  this  argument  of  expediency  and 

'  probability  that  the  American  Loyalist  placed  the 
stress,  and  herein  lay  the  chief  difference  between 

\the  English  and  American  supporters  of  the  British 
ministry.  The  English  Tory  denied  all  colonial  ore- 
tensions,  while  the  moderate  American  Tory  grantee 
that  things  were  not  as  they  should  be  but  maintainec 
tihat  the  wrong  did  not  justify  the  bitterness  of  the 
opposition. 

While  the  Americans  were  possessed  of  ideas  such 
as  these,  the  King  had  hit  upon  an  ingenious  ruse 
He  would  make  English  tea  cheaper  in  America 
than  foreign  tea,  and  then,  though  the  duty  of  three 
pence  on  a  pound  could  be  retained,  Americans 
would  buy  English  tea  for  mere  economy's  sake 
The  East  India  Company  was  to  be  recompensed 
and  the  loss  to  the  British  Government  was  th< 

'  pncji  of  corrupting  AmencaT  "The  British  Min 
kistry,"  said  Franklin,  "  have  no  idea  that  any  peopL 
can  act  from  any  other  principle  but  that  of  interest 

*  Gordon,  «'  American  War,"  Vol.  IV.,  p.  444. 


12  THE   LOYALISTS. 

and  they  believe  that  three  pence  in  a  pound  of  tea, 
of  which  one  does  perhaps  drink  ten  pounds  in  a 
year  is  sufficient  to  overcome  all  the  patriotism  of 
an  American."  l  In  the  autumn  of  1773,  ships 
loaded  with  tea  set  out  for  Boston,  New  York, 
Philadelphia  and  Charleston,  where  agents  had  been 
appointed  to  receive  the  seductive  cargo. 

The  storm  of  indignation  that  greeted  the  news 
of  this  proposed  raid  on  Whig  principles  aroused 
the  Tories  to  the  necessity  of  defending  their  posi 
tion.  Rivington,  a  printer  of  whom  we  shall  hear 
more,  gave  a  page  of  the  New  York  Gazette  to  the 
Tory  writer  who  signed  himself  "  Poplicola."  This 
"  worthy  Latin  derivative  "  tried  to  show  the  inhab 
itants  of  New  York  that  their  grievances  were 
imaginary,  trumped  up  by^demagoguesL  and  that 
there  could  be  no  harm  in  allowing  the  East  India 
Company  to  land  their  teas  in  America.  They 
might  bring  tea  to  Americans,  but  they  could  not 
make  them  drink.  "A  Farmer"  endeavored  in  a 
long  argument  to  show  that  it  would  pay  the  Whigs 
to  yield  now  when  Parliament  had  given  them  a  hole 
to  crawl  out  of.  He  pointed  out  that  there  was  no 
profit  in  carrying  the  struggle  further.2  Tea  was 
cheaper  than  before  the  tax  was  laid,  and  the  idea 
was  ridiculed  that,  in  buying  the  tea,  America's 
money  would  be  taken  without  her  consent.  No 
man  was  obliged  to  buy,  and,  when  he  did  buy,  he 

i Franklin's  "Works,"  Biglow  Ed.,  V.,  147. 
s  Gazette,  December  2,  1773. 


THE   SONS   OF  DESPOTISM.  13 

consented  to  pay  the  duty,  and  so  there  could  be  no 
duty  thereon  if  no  man  purchased  it.  The  heated 
controversy  went  on  in  every  new  issue  of  the 
Gazette,  where  both  parties  had  ready  access.1 
"  An  Old  Prophet"  offered  to  answer  Poplicola  if 
the  latter  would  give  his  real  name.  The  anony 
mous  Poplicola,  however,  knew  the  value  of  keep 
ing  his  light  under  a  bushel  in  those  troubled  times, 
and  kept  his  identity  a  secret  in  spite  of  a  promise, 
on  the  part  of  the  Prophet,  not  to  "  give  him  any 
hogoo  or  ungenerous  scurrilities."  There  was  in 
fact  good  need  for  giving  the  assurance,  since  scur 
rilous  articles  pro  and  con  were  making  the  Gazette 
disgracefully  interesting. 

The  tea  commissioners  were  the  first  victims  of 
the  popular  intolerance.  A  contemporary  has  re 
corded  for  us  the  sport  of  hunting  a  poor  tea  com 
missioner,  an  animal  who  is  "  a  sort  of  hermaphro 
dite  in  politics,"  having  no  title  to  liberty,  property 
or  the  freedom  of  uttering  his  sentiments  like  other 
men.2  The  epithet  and  its  elucidation  have  a  sin 
gular  fitness,  since  the  commissioners,  though  re 
garded  as  egregious  Tories,  were  roundly  abused 
by  their  presumed  party  if  they  weakened  in  the 
discharge  of  their  unpopular  duty.  There  was, 
however,  an  easy  choice  of  evils,  for  the  Tories  con- 

1  James  Rivington  was  at  this  time  honestly  trying  to  conduct  an 
independent  paper  in  New  York  city,  but  the  Whigs  would  permit 
nothing  but  the  most  extreme  Whig  sentiments,  and  Rivington  was 
in  time  forced  into  support  of  the  British  government. 

*  Rivingtort 's  Gazette,  June  8,  1774. 


/«£ 


1 4  THE   LOYALISTS. 

fined  their  abuse  to  villification,  a  form  of  persecu 
tion  which  failed  in  some  cases  to  satisfy  the  more 
ardent  Whigs. 

In  New  York,  one  November  evening,  a  number 
of  persons  assembled  in  School  Street,  broke  the 
windows  and  did  other  damage  by  throwing  large 
stones  into  the  house  of  an  Agent  of  the  East  India 
Company.1  As  a  result  of  like  threats  and  more 
formal  requests,  originating  in  mass-meeting,  the 
commissioners  in  New  York,  Philadelphia  and 
Charleston  resigned  their  commissions.  In  Boston, 
alone,  the  requests  to  resign  met  with  refusal.  As 
a  result  Boston  became  the  center  of  rebellious  in 
terest,  and  Samuel  Adams  became  in  Tory  eyes  the 
Wat  Tyler  of  America. 

After  consulting  the  other  towns  of  the  state  by 
means  of  the  efficient  committees  of  correspondence, 
Boston  determined  upon  uncompromising  resistance. 
The  day  after  the  first  of  the  tea  ships  came  into 
the  harbor  a  broadside  appeared  with  an  appeal  to 
"friends,  brethren  and  countrymen."  In  dema 
gogic  phrase  it  proclaimed  :  "  That  worst  of  all 
"plagues,  the  detested  tea,  shipped  for  this  port  by 
the  East  India  Company,  is  now  arrived  in  this 
harbor.  The  hour  of  destruction  or  roanly  oppo 
sition  to  the  machinations  of  tyranny  stores  you  in 
the  face.  Every  friend  to  his  country, ^to  himself 
and  to  posterity,  is  now  called  upon  to  meet  at 
Faneuil  Hall  at  nine  o'clock  this  day  (at  which 

iRivingtorfs  Gazette,  November  25,  1773. 


THE  SONS   OF  DESPOTISM.  15 

j  time  the  bells  will  ring)  to  make  united  and  suc 
cessful  resistance  to  this  last,  worst  and  most 
destructive  measure  of  administration." l  The 
paper  branded  with  the  name  of  enemy  to  his 
country,  to  himself  and  to  posterity,  every  man 
who  was  indifferent  or  opposed  to  its  sentiments. 
This  was  the  spirit  of  the  time  and  soon  drove  all 
but  the  most  insignificant  men  into  either  the  Whig 
or  Tory  party. 

The  meeting  at  Faneuil  Hall  was  adjourned  to 
the  Old  South  Meeting  House,  where  an  unanimous 
vote  demanded  that  the  tea  be  returned  to  England. 
That  night  the  tea-ships  were  guarded,  and  next 
day  the  consignees  offered  to  store  the  unwelcome 
cargo  if  the  landing  were  permitted.  The  offer 
was  indignantly  refused,  and  a  resolution  passed 
forbidding  ship-owners  bringing  tea  from  Great 
Britain  to  Massachusetts  while  the  duty  was  unre- 
pealed.  Any  transgressor  was  to  be  regarded  as 
an  enemy  to  his  country,  and  his  tea  should  be 
sent  back  to  the  place  whence  it  came.  Thus  the 
determined  opposition  proceeded  step  by  step 2  until 
at  the  meeting  on  December  sixteenth,  an  hour 
after  nightfall,  Rotch,  the  owner  of  the  tea-ships, 
entered  ttr  tcwn  meeting  with  the  refusal  of  the 
Governor  fo  allow  him  to  pass  out  of  the  harbor. 
Samuel  fi  dams  arose  and  quietly  announced : 

1Sabine,  "American  Loyalists,"  p.  342. 

2  The  detailed  -*ory  has  no  logical  place  in  this  'book  except  as  it 
illustratesjme  forcing  of  the  unsympathetic  into  the  Tory  ranks.") 


16  THE   LOYALISTS. 

"  This  meeting  can  do  nothing  more  to  save  the 
country."  Then  the  immortal  band  of  Boston 
Indians  did  what  the  meeting  had  failed  to  do. 
Next  morning  the  tea  lay  like  seaweed  on  Dor 
chester  beach,  and  the  angry  loyalists  were  threat 
ening  the  terrible  wrath  of  King  George. 

Yet  there  was  some  bravado  in  their  threats,  for 
one  of  the  most  zealous  of  them  wrote  about  this 
time  to  an  English  officer,  complaining  that  for 
want  of  support  those  who  had  been  friends  of  the 
government  and  its  servants  were  now  in  a  much 
worse  state  than  at  any  former  period.1  He  went 
on  to  show  that,  because  Parliament  had  not  taken 
active  measures  to  coerce  the  turbulent  spirits,  the 
loyalists  were  giving  up  their  efforts.  It  is  difficult 
to  see  that  the  loyalists  had  made  much  effort,  but 
it  is  certain  that  they  had  been  wretchedly  sup 
ported.  The  ministry,  Edmund  Burke  said,  had 
"  never  had  any  kind  of  system,  right  or  wrong ; 
but  only  invented  some  miserable  tale  for  the  day, 
in  order  meanly  to  sneak  out  of  difficulties  into 
which  they  had  proudly  strutted."  2  The  Loyalists 
therefore  hoped  against  precedent  during  the  months 
while  the  Tea  Party  news  traveled  to  England  and 
the  measures  of  retaliation  traveled  back. 

They  had,  meanwhile,  to  hear  and  read  a  great 
deal  about  the  "pestilential  herb"  and  the  "de 
testable  plant."  Newspaper  poets  sang  of  the 

1  Stevens'  Facsimiles,  No.  2029,  MSS.  of  Lord  Dartmouth. 
*  Burke' s  "Works,"  II.,  14. 


THE   SONS   OF  DESPOTISM.  17 

"  fated  plant  of  India's  shore  "  and  urged  Freedom's 
sons  to  "  dash  the  cup  infused  with  bane."  "  Per 
nicious,  baleful  tea"  was  shown  to  be  possessed  of 
"all  Pandora's  ills."  No  Tory  dared  offer  his 
neighbor  a  drink  of  tea  unless  he  was  absolutely 
sure  of  the  neighbor's  political  sentiments.  Every 
stranger  was  feared  as  a  spy,  and  even  the  most 
reckless  Tory  wanted  good  proof  of  the  political 
sympathy  of  his  guest  before  offering  him  tea. 
"Jack  Traveller"  related  that,  when  he  asked  for 
tea,  the  landlord  winked  and  ordered  the  maid  to 
bring  in  some  "  white  coffee."  The  dish  of  "  white 
coffee"  was,  Mr.  Traveller  informs  us,  the  most 
delicious  tea.1  Nor  was  that  the  only  "white 
coffee"  to  be  found  in  the  colonies  in  those  theo 
retically  tea-less  days.  Many  refused  to  be  de 
prived  of  their  favorite  drink,  in  spite  of  the  danger 
of  being 

"Tarred,  feathered  and  carted  for  drinking  bohea 
And  by  force  and  oppression  compelled  to  be  free. ' '  2 

A  philosophic  observer  of  American  manners  in 
those  days  thought  that  the  lack  of  the  advantages 
for  recreation,  offered  in  more  settled  communities, 
had  caused  the  Americans  to  set  greater  store  by 
the  more  sensual  pleasures  of  eating  and  drinking. 
However  logical  this  reasoning  may  be,  the  fact  re 
mains  that  the  Tory  party  secured  many  a  sympa 
thizer  from  among  those  who  would  have  been 

*  Rwingtoi? s  Gazette,  December  29,  1779. 
2 Moore's  "  Diary,"  II.,  22. 
3 


1 8  THE  LOYALISTS. 

indifferent  had  they  not  been  asked  to  give  up  the 
good  things  of  life  to  maintain  a  principle  they  did 
not  understand.  Nevertheless,  he  who  "  bowed 
down  to  the  Tea  Chest,  the  God  of  the  Heathen,"1 
went  into  his  closet  and  shut  the  door,  as  we  are 
fold  in  a  scriptural  parody  of  the  time. 

But  the  Loyalists  did  not  endure  all  this  taunting 
md  repression  without  an  attempt  to  bring  retalia- 
:ion  upon  their  oppressors.  As  yet  they  had  no 
Darty  organization,  owing  in  part  to  the  inefficiency 
:>f  the  crown  officers,  who  could  have  led  the  oppo 
sition,  but  who  relied  too  much  on  English  assist 
ance  to  act  effectively  in  their  own  behalf.  The 
scriptural  parodist  represents  them  as  smiting  their 
breasts  and  crying,  "  these  Whigs  fear  thee  not,  O 
King,  neither  have  they  obeyed  the  voice  of  our 
Lord  the  King,  nor  worshipped  the  Tea  Chests 
which  thou  hast  set  up,  whose  length  was  three 
cubits,  and  the  breadth  thereof  one  cubit  and  a  half." 
'  In  long  earnest  letters  to  influential  men  in  Eng 
land  the  Loyalists,  with  far  more  dignity  than  the 
caricaturist  would  have  us  believe,  were  urging 
strenuous  action  by  the  British  government. 

But  Lord  North  and  his  ministry  needed  no  spur 
from  American  friends,  for  there  was  no  question 
now  whether  the  time  for  decisive  action  had  come. 
"The  ministry  are  checkmated,"  Lord  Chatham 
said.  "  They  have  a  move  to  make  on  the  board 

i  The  first  Book  of  the  American  Chronicles  of  the  Times.  Ben 
Towne,  publisher.  Philadelphia,  1774. 


THE  SONS   OF  DESPOTISM.  19 

and  yet  not  a  move  but  they  are  ruined."1  When 
they  acted,  they  did  everything  that  the  most  violent 
Tory  could  have  asked  of  them,  and  much  that  the 
moderate  Tories  deprecated.  Parliament  was  com 
pelled  to  ^ass^five  acts  for  the  better  regulation  of 
American  affairs.  The  Boston  Port  Bill  was  the 
first  of  these.  It  closed  that  port  until  the  town 
should  indemnify  the  East  India  Company  for  the 
loss  of  its  tea  and  convince  the  king  that  it  was 
truly  submissive.  The  second  act,  known  as  the 
Regulating  Act,  annulled  thecharter  of  Massachu 
setts  and  ordered  that  thecouncil  of  the  colony, 
hitherto  chosen  by  a  convention  of  the  retiring 
council  and  the  Assembly,  were  hereafter  to  be  ap 
pointed  by  the  Governor  on  a  royal  writ  of  Manda 
mus.  The  Crown  was  to  pay  their  salaries  and 
could  remove  them  at  will.  This  council  and  the 
Governor  could  appoint  and  remove  sheriffs,  and 
these  sheriffs  had  the  sole  right  of  returning  juries. 
Town  meetings  could  only  be  held  twice  a  year  and 
solely  for  the  election  of  town  officers.  Thus  there 
was  a  centralization  of  power  in  the  Governor's 
hands,  and  a  paternalism  established  which  could 
be  almost  French  in  its  efficiency, 
i  The  third  act  provided  that  any  soldier  or  revenue 
[officer  indicted  for  murder  in  Massachusetts  should 
^be  tried  in  England.  The  fourth  act  swept  away 
all  legal  restrictions  upon  the  quartering  of  soldiers 
in  any  town  of  Massachusetts.  Thefifth  act  sanc- 

1  Gordon,  "  American  War,"  Vol.  I.,  42. 


20  THE   LOYALISTS. 

tioned  the  free  exercise  of  the  Catholic  religion  in 

Canada,  which  was  laudable  enough,  but  it  went 
on  to  extend  the  southern  boundary  of  that  do 
minion  to  the  Ohio  River,  ignoring  the  claims  of 
Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  New  York  and  Vir 
ginia.  A  viceroy  was  to  govern  this  part  of  North 
America,  and  the  people  were  denied  the  habeas 
corpus,  popular  meetings  and  the  freedom  of  the 
press.1 

As  a  sort  of  penal  clause  to  this  legislation,  Gen 
eral  Gage  was  made  temporary  governor  of  Massa 
chusetts  in  the  place  of  Hutchinson,  and  four  regi 
ments  accompanied  him  to  America  to  discomfit 
the  refractory  people  of  Boston.  Gage  was  ordered 
to  arrest  the  leading  rebels  and  send  them  to  Eng 
land  for  trial.  There  was  no  mistaking  the  inten 
tion  of  the  British  ministry  in  these  acts. 

The  manner  in  which  the  news  of  these  measures 
was  received  by  the  members  of  the  Tory  party  in 
America  elucidates  their  motives  and  illustrates  the 
*  diversity    of  their    characters.     When    the    report 
reached  Boston  on  the  I  oth  of  May,  the  Tory  mer- 
t  chants  favored  a  compromise,  and  a  subscription 
'was  started  to  pay  for  the  tea.     On  May  i8th,  Jon 
athan  Amory  argued  for  such  a  measure,  in  Town 
meeting,  but  the  proposition  was  overwhelmingly 

1  defeated.  These  men,  though  they  deplored  the 
rigor  of  the  ministerial  displeasure,  argued  for  sub 
mission,  because  they  feared  with  Chatham,  that  the 

1  All  passed  in  April,  1774. 


THE   SONS   OF  DESPOTISM.  21 

first  drop  of  blood  "  would  make  a  wound  of  that 
rancorous,  malignant,  corroding,  festering  nature 
that  it  would  in  all  probability  mortify  the  whole 
body."  l  For  their  caution  they  were  denounced  as 
"  dastardly,  low-spirited  court  sycophants."  One 
Whig  wrote  in  amazement :  "  Yet  with  horror  be  it 
spoken,  there  are  free-born  sons  of  America  so  lost 
to  all  sense  of  honor,  liberty  and  every  noble  feel 
ing  as  to  join  the  cry  and  to  press  for  submission. 
O,  tell  it  not  in  Gath,  publish  it  not  in  the  streets 
of  Ashkalon  !  "  2 

As  for  the  crown  officers,  the  stalwarts  of  the 
Tory  party,  they  found  the  vengeance  of  the  king 
not  a  whit  more  severe  than  met  their  approval.     A 
New  York  Tory  thought  that  Americans  ought  to 
jbe  taught  to  pursue  their  true  interests,  improve 
jjtheir  commerce  and  cultivate  their  lands  and  leave 
Jthe  regulation  of  the  state  to  those  competent  in  the 
Jmatter.3     In  the  face  of  the  Boston  Port  Bill,  Dan 
iel     Leonard,    an    ultra-loyalist,    wrote  :     "  If  the 
Egyptian  darkness  that  hovers  over  the  land  could 
be  dispersed,  people  might  see  George  III.  as  the 
provident  father  of  all   his  people."  4     Others  like 
Jonathan  Boucher,   a  clergyman    in  the  Anglican 
Church,  believed  sincerely  in  the  divine  right  of 

1  Gordon,  "  American  War,"  Vol.  I.,  445.  Gordon's  source  was 
doubtless  the  "Annual  Register." 

1  "An  Antidote  Against  and  the  Reward  of  Toryism,"  p.  13, 
Nath.  Whitaker. 

3  "American  Archives,"  series  4,  Vol.  I.,  301. 

4  "  Massachusettensis, "  January  2,  1775. 


22  THE  LOYALISTS. 

kings.  He  asserted  that  the  "  families  of  the  earth 
were  subjected  to  rulers,  at  first  set  over  them  by 
God," — "  copying  after  the  fair  model  of  heaven  it 
self,  wherein  there  was  government  even  among  the 
angels."  To  Jonathan  Boucher  resistance  was  a 
sacrilege  to  which  he  was  little  inclined.  There  was 
yet  another  class  of  whom  Dickinson,  quoting,  said  : 

"This  word,  Rebellion,  hath  froze  them  up, 
'  Like  fish  in  a  pond. ' '  1 

These  men  were  peaceful,  sober-minded  citizens, 
who  perhaps  had  more  than  half  sympathized  with 
the  Whig  movement  thus  far,  b.uL_the  thought  of 
civil  tumult  and  even  war  had  checfa^l  their  noble 
rage  and  brought  them  to  think  of  things  less  meta 
physical  than  political  principles.  The  motives  and 
combination  of  motives,  the  characters  and  phases 
of  character  might  be  multiplied  indefinitely,  for 
both  good  and  evil  motives  actuated  the  Tory  as 
well  as  the  Whig  partizans.  Many  Tories  loved 
America  with  a  sincerity  not  surpassed  by  the  most 
high-minded  Whigs.  Though  posterity  has  not 
awarded  them  the  name,  it  may  wisely  concede  to 
them  the  character  of  the  patriot. 

As  for  the  Whigs,  no  language  was  florid  enough 
to  express  their  wrath.  Samuel  Adams  said  of  the 
act  that  "  for  flagrant  injustice  and  barbarity  one 
might  search  in  vain  among  the  archives  of  Con 
stantinople  to  find  a  match  for  it."  2  "  Impudent 

1  These  lines  head  Dickinson's  pamphlet  entitled,    "An  Address 
to  the  Committee  of  Correspondence  in  Barbadoes, ' '  etc. 

2  "American  Archives,"  series  4,  Vol.  I.,  332. 


THE   SONS   OF  DESPOTISM.  23 

and  inflammatory  pieces,"  as  the  loyalists  called 
them,  were  spread  through  every  city  "  by  flaming 
patriots  without  propert^or  anything  else  but  impu 
dence."  """"From  town  meetings  and  from  conven 
tions  throughout  the  colonies  came  words  of  earnest 
sympathy.  Such  an  idea,  wrote  one  committee,  "  as 
the  Port  Bill,  had  hitherto  escaped  the  sagacity  of 
statesmen  and  even  the  fancy  of  poets.  The  sub 
tlety  of  Machiavelli's  Italian  brain  had  missed  it." 
Another  thought,  "  Future  ages  will  hardly  believe 
that  we  were  descended  from  British,  when  they  read 
of  our  having  borne  so  long  and  resented  so  feebly 
these  outrages."  It  is  worse  than  the  treatment  of 
Carthage  by  the  Romans,  declared  another.  In  many 
places  the  bill  was  read  in  the  presence  of  a  con 
course  of  people,  then  sentenced  to  the  flames  and 
executed  by  the  common  hangman.  The  idea  of 
paying  for  the  spilled  tea  was  ridiculed.  "  If  a  man 
draws  his  sword  on  me  to  deprive  me  of  life  or 
liberty  and  I  break  his  sword  ought  I  to  pay  for  the 
sword?"2  From  every  quarter  came  resolves  to 
scorn  British  chains  and  to  resist  every  effort  to 
fetter  American  liberty.  Extravagant  political 
moralists  promised  that  god-like  virtue  should 
"blazon  our  hemisphere  until  time  shall  be  no 


JTory   correspondent   to   a   gentleman   in    England.       Force's 
"American  Archives,"  series  4,  Vol.  I.,  30x5. 

2  "American  Archives,"  series  4,  Vol.  I.,  389. 

3  See  for  above  resolves  and  sentiments  and  for  many  others, 
Force's  "American  Archives,"  series  4,  Vol.  I.,  331-350. 


24  THE   LOYALISTS. 

They  began  the  exercise  of  this  virtue  by  send 
ing  such  quantities  of  provisions  into  Boston  that 
she  at  least  should  suffer  no  physical  want.  Un 
willingness  to  give  for  this  purpose  was  branded 
as  Toryism,  and  treated  accordingly.  The  loyal 
clergyman,  Jonathan  Boucher,  declared  that  the  true 
object  of  making  the  contribution  was  by  this  means 
to  raise  a  sum  sufficient  to  purchase  arms  and  am 
munition.  He  declined  to  preach  a  sermon  recom 
mending  the  suffering  people  of  Boston  to  the 
charity  of  his  parish.1  As  a  result  he  received 
letters  threatening  him  with  the  "  most  dreadful 
consequences,"  if  he  did  not  desist  from  preaching. 
He  refused  to  be  intimidated,  and  for  more  than  six 
months  he  preached,  so  he  informs  us,  with  a  pair 
of  loaded  pistols  lying  on  the  cushion.  The  con 
gregation  were  given  warning  that,  if  any  one  at 
tempted  to  drag  him  from  the  pulpit  as  had  been 
threatened,  he  would  feel  justified  in  repelling  vio 
lence  by  violence.2  Other  clergyman  emulated  the 
opposition  if  not  the  indomitable  persistence  of  this 

1  "  Notes  and  Queries,"  5th  series,  VI.,  82.     "  Autobiography." 

2  Boucher  proved  himself  as  fearless  as  his  word,  when  some  months 
later  two  hundred  armed  men  came  early  to  church  for  the  purpose 
of  intimidating  the  dauntless  preacher  and  listening  to  a  Whig  ser 
mon  more  to  their  liking.     With  his  sermon  in  one  hand  and  his 
loaded  pistol  in  the  other  he  prepared  to  ascend  the  pulpit.     A 
friend,  to  prevent  violence,  seized  him,  and  he  was  removed  from 
the  church  that  day,  but  on  the  next  Sunday  returned,  preached  the 
sermon  that  had  been  prevented  and  added  some  comments  on  the 
scene  at  the  previous  meeting.     See  "  Notes  and  Queries,"  5th  series, 
I.,  103-104.      "Autobiography." 


THE  SONS   OF  DESPOTISM.  25 

Virginia  parson.  Nevertheless,  the  popular  sym 
pathy  for  Boston  remained  unabated,  and  the  first 
of  June,  when  the  Port  Bill  went  into  effect,  was 
observed  as  a  fast  day  by  many  of  the  congrega 
tions  of  these  very  clergymen.  Party  lines  were 
now  clearly  drawn  ;  personal  fealty  had  to  be  very 
great  to  be  heeded  rather  than  the  demands  of  one's 
party. 

It  will  be  well  now,  before  taking  up  a  chapter 
of  incidents  in  which  new  motives  for  active  parti- 
zanship  arose  with  every  footfall  of  advance,  to  con 
sider  what  elements  of  American  society  had  already 
become  zealous  in  the  support  of  the  King. 

Before  the  coming  of  the  British  soldiers,  the  ele 
ments  of  the  active  Tory  party  may  be  fairly  repre 
sented  in  a  few  well-defined  classes.  -Tl^ere  were 


the  ofrlce-holdin^Tories.  whose  incomes  depended 
upon  the  existing  regime.  Closely  linked  with! 
these  were  those  gregarious  persons  whose  friends 
were  among  the  official  class.  Doubtless  many  of 
the  Anglican  clergy  had  motives  similar  to  those 
of  the  crown  officers.  With  these  men  drifted  the 
conseryative_people  of  all  classes,  who  glided  easily 


in  the  old  channels.  Another  type  of  man,  who 
'listened  and  yielded  rather  to  metaphysical  con 
siderations  than  to  concrete  facts,  was  the  dynastic 
Tory^  the  king -worshipper.  Others,  w-ho  were 
convinced  that  Parliament  had  a  right  to  tax,  may 
be^  defined  as  legality  lories.  Both  these  "types 


were    reinlorce"3    by    trie religious   Tory,    whose 


26  THE   LOYALISTS. 

dogma  was  "fear  God  and  honor  the  King." 
Finally  there  were  the  factional  Tories,  whose 
action  was  determined  by  family  feuds  and  old 
political  animosities.  The  DeLancey  party  in  New 
York,  of  which  we  shall  hear  more,  was  forced 
into  opposition  because  the  Livingston  party,  its 
ancient  enemy,  embraced  the  Whig  principles.  In 
Massachusetts,  the  antipathy  of  the  Otis' s  to  Gov 
ernor  Bernard  doubtless  aided  the  formation  of 
revolutionary  parties.  With  the  actual  outbreak 
of  war  came  new  accessions  to  the  active  supporters 
of  the  British,  as  we  shall  see  when  the  issues  arise 
on  the  subjects  of  the  Continental  Congress,  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  and  the  French  Al 
liance.  It  must  always  be  borne  in  mind,  how 
ever,  that  content  with  the  old  order  of  things  was 
the  normal  state,  and  that  men  had  rather  to  be 
converted  to  the  Whig  or  Revolutionary  views 
than  to  the  Tory  or  Loyalist  position.  The  classi 
fication  only  shows  what  elements  of  society  tended 
to  remain  steadfast  in  the  old  faith. 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE    FIRST    EXILES. 

THR  cominpr  of  General  Gage  and  foe  retirement 
of  Governor  Hutchinson  became  the  occasion  for 
the  first  associated  action  of  the  Tory  party.  In 
Boston,  the  Tories  had  assembled  in  the  coffee 
houses  in  numbers  respectable  enough  to  give  them 
temporary  freedom  of  speech,  but  their  public 
declarations  had  consisted  of  tavern  talk  and 
anonymous  letters  to  the  gazettes  which  the  Whigs 
declared  were  the  work  of  "  ministerial  hirelings" 
to  whose  "  pensioned  pen  "  the  "  sons  of  despotism  " 
were  reduced.1  But  the  Tories,  even  then,  asserted 
that  the  press  was  not  a  safe  medium  for  their  argu 
ments,  though  a  Whig  writer  might  appear  there 
"  in  all  the  terrible  pomp  of  his  own  horrid  visage." 
Now,  however,  lovalty  was  no  |pn^er  in  terror,  and 
began  to  ass  A  itself. 

The  Kpiscopalminicfers  and  wardens  of  Boston 
were  the  nr<:t  to  assi-.re  Hutchinson,  the  retiring 
governor,  of  their  gratitude  for  his  generous  atten 
tion —  especially  to  matters  of  religion,  which  fell 
"  more  immediately  within  their  province."  They 
manifested  a  greater  solicitude  for  his  "  eternity 

1  Force's  "  American  Archive:,     series  4,  Vol.  II.,  p.  8. 
27 


28  THE   LOYALISTS. 

of  happiness  in  the  life  to  come"  than  for  the 
effects  of  his  administration  in  the  days  that  were 
past.1 

On  the  following  day,  the  Justices  of  the  Peace 
for  the  county  of  Suffolk  testified  their  loyalty  to 
the  king  and  paid  their  dutiful  respects  to  General 
Gage.  They  first  flattered  him  and  then  flattered 
themselves  that  he  would  be  acceptable  to  the  peo 
ple  over  whom  he  was  to  preside.  They  wished, 
but,  as  events  proved,  in  vain,  that  the  wisdom 
which  is  from  above  might  direct  him  in  perform 
ing  his  duty.  They  recognized  that  there  were 
public  dissensions,  but  made  no  partisan  comment 
upon  them,  and  volunteered  their  assistance  in  the 
preservation  of  peace.2 

Thirty-three  citizens  of  Marblehead  next  ad 
dressed  Hutchinson,  reciting  the  special  favors  they 
had  enjoyed  during  his  administration.  They  made 
some  unhappy  insinuations  regarding  their  own  dis 
passionate  view  of  his  course  and  closed  with  the 
hope  that  his  reception  in  England  would  compen 
sate  for  the  insults  and  indignities  suffered  in  Mas 
sachusetts.3 

Within  ten  days  this  address  was  rebuked  by  a 
declaration  unanimously  voted  at  a  legal  meeting 
of  the  town  of  Marblehead.  The  declaration  as 
serted  that  the  address  had  been  conducted  in  a 
secret  and  clandestine  manner  and  that  the  movers 

force's  "American  Archives,"  series  4,  Vol.  I.,  p.  346. 
*Ibid.,  series  4,  Vol.  L,  p.  346. 
*  ibid.,  series  4,  Vol.  I.,  358. 


THE  FIRST  EXILES.  29 

showed  a  disposition  to  destroy  the  harmony  of  the 
town  in  its  public  affairs,  thus  planting  seeds  of  dis 
sensions,  animosities  and  discords.  In  addressing  a 
person  who  had  been  censured  as  an  inveterate 
enemy  by  both  houses  of  the  legislature  they  had 
offered  an  indignity  to  that  body.  The  address, 
though  "  but  the  fantastical  shadow  of  public  re 
spect,"  would  give  Hutchinson  the  opportunity  of 
justifying  his  own  conduct  and  thus  increase  the 
ministerial  prejudice  against  the  colony.  By  in 
nuendo  they  had  called  nineteen  twentieths  of  the 
men  of  Marblehead  /passionate  and  thoughtless 
men.  The  Declaration  came  to  the  quaint  anti 
climax  that  such  men  ought  to  be  censured  by  the 
world  "  as  persons  both  vain  and  inattentive."1  The 
mildness  of  this  comment  affords  us  a  standard  by 
which  we  may  measure  the  rapid  rise  in  the  political 
temperature.  Not  a  little  of  this  partisan  warmth 
was  due  to  the  addresses  and  protests  which  we  are 
about  to  consider. 

In  Boston,  the  Tory  leaders  canvassed  up  and 
down  King  Street  and  Cornhill,  along  the  docks 
and  wharves,  out  on  Noddles  Island,  and  in  the 
neighboring  towns,  Cambridge,  Roxbury,  and  Dor 
chester.  As  a  result,  one  hundred  and  twenty -three 
subscribers  were  secured  to  an  address  which  wel 
comed  the  coming  and  sped  the  departing  governor. 
They  deplored  the  impending  calamities  of  the  me 
tropolis,  and  mildly  criticised  the  measures  that 

1  Force's  "American  Archives,"  series  4,  Vol.  I.,  359. 


30  THE   LOYALISTS. 

threatened  it.  Referring  to  the  Boston  Port  Bill 
and  the  Regulating  Act,  they  humbly  suggested 
that,  "  Without  meaning  to  arraign  the  Justice  of 
the  British  Parliament,  we  could  humbly  wish  that 
this  Act  had  been  couched  with  less  Rigour  and 
that  the  Execution  of  it  had  been  delayed  to  a  more 
distant  Time,  that  the  People  might  have  had  an 
Alternative,  either  to  have  complied  with  the  Con 
ditions  therein  set  forth,  or  to  have  submitted  to  the 
consequent  Evils  on  Refusal."  l  As  the  measures 
stood,  choice  was  precluded,  and  all  must  suffer. 
They  conceded  that  the  indemnity  to  the  East  India 
Company  was  just,  and  they  were  willing  to  pay 
their  share,  though  they  had  taken  no  part  in  the 
destruction  of  the  tea.  In  concluding,  they  hoped 
that  Governor  Hutchinson  would  represent  their 
case  to  the  ministry  as  favorably  as  possible. 

On  the  following  day,  like  sentiments  and  testi 
monials  of  esteem  were  conveyed  to  the  retiring 
governor  by  the  barristers  and  attorneys-at-law  of 
Massachusetts,  twenty-four  as  illustrious  names  as 
the  colony  could  afford.2  Finally,  two  days  before 
the  governor's  departure,  thirty-one  magistrates  of 
Middlesex  assured  Hutchinson  that  they  had  long 
beheld  with  an  indignant  eye  those  riotous  and 
tumultous  proceedings  that  had  destroyed  public 
peace  and  order.  They,  too,  hoped  that  the  colony 
might  be  restored  to  his  Majesty's  favor,  and  they 

1  "Massachusetts  Historical  Society  Proc.,"  Vol.  XII.,  43. 
2 Force's  "  American  Archives,"  series  4,  Vol.  L,  363. 


THE  FIRST  EXILES.  31 

looked  upon  Governor  Hutchinson  as  an  agent  to 
that  end.1  Later,  several  addresses  of  nearly  the 
same  tenor,  of  which  the  most  important  was  that 
of  the  merchants  of  Boston,  were  presented  to  Gen 
eral  Gage. 

The  importance  of  the  preceding  addresses  is  out 
of  all  proportion  to  their  apparent  significance. 
They  are  an  indispensable  genesis  to  the  history  of 
the  Tories.  For  the  next  seven  years  the  Addressers 
of  Massachusetts  or  of  New  York  or  of  some  one 
of  the  colonies  were  held  up  to  their  countrymen 
as  traitors  and  enemies  to  their  country.  In  the 
arraignments,  whiclixsoon  began,  the  Tories  were 
convicted  not  out  of  their  mouths  but  out  of  their 
addresses.  The  ink  was  hardly  dry  upon  the 
parchment  before  the  persecutions  began,  and, 
throughout  the  long  years  of  war,  the  crime  of  be 
ing  an  addresser  grew  in  its  enormity. 

The  Tories  learned  the  intolerance  of  popular 
faction  not  only  by  expressing  sympathy  for  the 
enemies  of  the  Whig  party,  but  by  entering  a  pro 
test  against  its  measures.  In  the  Committee  of  Cor 
respondence  of  Boston  there  originated  a  ^Solemn 
League  and  Covenant "  which  through  the  enter 
prise  of  Joseph  Warren,  the  chairman,  was  dissemi 
nated  through  all  the  towns  of  Massachusetts.  It 
rehearsed  the  wrongs  of  Boston  and  bound  the 
signers,  who,  in  the  presence  of  God,  solemnly  and 

force's  "  American  Archives,"  series  4,  Vol.  I.,  364. 


3 3  THE   LOYALISTS. 

in  good  faith  convenanted  and  agreed  with  each 
other  to  suspend  all  commercial  intercourse  with 
Great  Britain  until  the  hateful  acts  were  repealed. 
After  August  1st,  the  signers  agreed  not  to  trade 
with  those  who  continued  to  trade  with  England, 
nor  would  they  buy  of  any  contumacious  importers 
who  refused  to  sign  an  appended  oath,1  in  which 
such  trade  was  forsworn. 

The  same  body  of  Tory  merchants,  that  had  ad- 
>dressed  Hutchinson  and  Gage,  now  pro  tested  against 
[the  "Solemn  League  and  Covenant."  They  had 
already  attempted  in  a  town  meeting  at  Faneuil 
Hall  to  have  the  Committee  of  Correspondence 
censured  and  dismissed,  but  had  been  met  by  an 
overwhelming  negative.  They  had  maintained  that 
the  "  League  and  Covenant  "  had  been  clandestinely 
dispersed  through  the  province  without  the  consent 
or  knowledge  of  the  town.  The  protest  was  the 
last  resort  of  the  dissentients.  Their  reasons  were 
that  the  "League"  was  "a  base,  wicked,  and  il 
legal  Measure."  It  would  distress  and  ruin  many 
merchants  and  check  industry  by  stopping  the  ex 
portation  of  their  oil,  potash,  flaxseed,  lumber  and 
codfish.  It  would,  they  concluded,  involve  rather 
than  extricate  the  colony  from  its  difficulties.2  The 
protest  was  reinforced  two  days  later  by  a  JP££cla- 
mation  of  General  Gage^s  in  which  he  denounced 
the  league,  forbade  all  persons  to  sign  it,  and  com- 

1  Massachusetts  Gazette,  June  13,  1774. 
*  Rivingtori1  s  Gazette,  July  14,  1774. 


THE  FIRST  EXILES.  33 

manded  the  provincial  magistrates  to  seize  and 
bring  to  trial  all  who  published  or  offered  it  for 
signature.1 

The  Whigs  met  the  "  Protest "  and  the  "  Procla 
mation  "  with  as  much  vigor  as  was  possible  while 
Gage  and  his  "  Pretorian  Guard"  were  in  control 
of  Boston.  A  broadside  was  printed  containing 
the  names  of  the  protestors  against  the  "  Solemn 
League  and  Covenant "  and  of  the  addressers  to 
Governor  Hutchinson.  The  occupations  and  places 
of  business  were  given,  and  stars  were  placed  oppo 
site  the  names  of  those  who  were  not  natives  of 
America.  Tax-collectors,  treasurers  or  their  clerks 
were  especially  distinguished  by  one,  two  or  even 
three  exclamation  points.2  Thus  the  signers  of 
both  the  Address  and  the  Protest  were  subjected 
to  an  inspection  quite  unwelcome  to  the  majority. 
An  unpleasant  prominence  was  given  to  the  fact 
that  out  of  one  hundred  and  twenty -three  Address 
ers,  thirty-one  were  not  natives  of  America,  four 
teen  were  officers  of  the  Crown,  and  sixty-three 
were  either  merchants  or  traders  actuated  by  a 
sordid  spirit,  as  the  Whigs  believed,  rather  than  the 
"  glorious  spirit  of  liberty."  As  for  the  forty-six 
remaining  signers,  some  were  shown  to  be  relatives 
of  the  Crown  officers,  and  there  was  a  subtle  sug 
gestion  that  those  signers  who  were  portrait 
painters,  lapidaries,  chaise-makers,  jewellers,  boo1  <«' 

force's  "American  Archives,"  series  4,  Vol.  I.,  491. 

Massachusetts  Historical  Society  Proceedings,"  1869-70,  p. 
39- 
4 


34  THE  LOYALISTS. 

binders,  and  "  baker  to  the  army,"  were  men  whose 
best  custom  would  come  from  the  wealthy  mer 
chants  and  rich  officers  who  were  the  adherents  of 
the  Crown. 

The  Proclamation  by  Gage  was  wholly  disre 
garded,  but,  in  the  matter  of  a  non-importation 
agreement,  the  Patriots  decided  to  await  the  action 
of  a  Continental  Congress,  which  had  been  proposed 
by  the  Sons  of  Liberty  of  New  York,  approved  by 
the  famous  convention  at  Raleigh  tavern  in  Vir 
ginia,  and  the  time  and  place  left  to  the  decision  of 
Massachusetts.  Gage  had  convened  the  Massa 
chusetts  Assembly  at  Salem,  as  provided  by  the 
Port  Bill,  and  intended  to  regulate  their  action  by 
dissolving  them  at  a  moment's  warning  in  case  they 
did  what  he  disapproved.  But  the  daring, Samuel 
Adams,  who  "  only  shuddered  at  the  sight  of 
hemp,"  l  as  the  Loyalists  conceded,  awaited  the 
favorable  hour,  caused  the  door  to  be  locked,  and 
put  the  key  in  his  pocket.  Then  resolves  were 
introduced  appointing  five  delegates  to  confer  with 
delegates  to  be  appointed  by  the  other  colonies. 
A  Tory  member  on  the  pretense  of  illness-  -  was 
allowed  to  pass  qut,  and  hastened  at  once  cc/.nform 
Governor  Gage.  A  writ  dissolving  the  assembly 
was  hastily  drawn  and  the  secretary  dispatch*, 
it  to  prevent  the  mischief.  He  was  obliged  I 
his  writ  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  keyhole,  wrric 

1  "  Massachusetts  Historical  Society  Proceedings,"  2ci  s< 
XII.,  140. 


THE  FIRST  EXILES.  35 

within,  the  resolves  were  passed  electing  the  dele 
gates,  and  measures  were  carried  for  the  relief  of 
Boston.  In  this  bold  manner  the  foundation  of  th 
Continental  Congress  was  laid  and,  before  Septem 
ber  first,  twelve  of  the  colonies,  through  their  as 
semblies  or  special  conventions,  had  chosen  dele 
gates. 

Meanwhile,  the  attempt  to  inaugurate  the  new 
Regulating  Acts  in  Massachusetts,  and  the  employ 
ment  of  leading  Tories  to  fill  the  offices  thereb} 
created,1  loosed  the  popular  rage  against  those 
"ministerial  tools."  The  thirty-six  councillors 
appointed  on  the  King's  writ  of  mandamus  became 
at  once  the  object  of  persecution.  The  people 
"seem  to  be  quite  awake,  and  to  have  awoke  in  a 
passion,"  commented  one  who  watched  the  events.2 
A  contemporary  Whig  writer  speaks  of  mobs  as 
"the  first-born  offspring  of  oppression,"3  which  is 
as  charitable  an  epithet  as  the  popular  action  of  the 
time  deserves.  The  house  of  Timothy  Ruggles, 
one  of  the  councillors,  was  attacked  in  the  night, 
and  he  was  ordered  to  depart.  He  promised  to 
leave  by  the  time  the  sun  was  an  hour  hiffc,  and 
the  d'.idy  was  permitted.  In  the  morning  he»ound 
that  the  mob  had  improved  the  time  by  cfcsely 
cropping  the  mane  and  tail  of  his  horse,  and  ^tint 
ing  its  whole  body.4  Israel  Williams,  though  "  old 

1  See  "Letters  of  James  Murray,  Loyalist,"  pp.  137,  138. 

2  "American  Archives,"  series  4,  Vol.  I.,  732. 

3  "American  Archives,"  series  4,  Vol.  I.,  335. 
tRivingtori's  Gazette,  Septembers,  1774. 


36  THE  LOYALISTS. 

and  infirm/'  was  taken  from  his  home  at  night  by 
a  mob,  placed  in  a  house  with  the  doors  and  chim 
ney  closed,  and  smoked  for  several  hours.  The 
poet  Trumbull  has  chronicled  the  result  in  the  line 
of  "  M'Fingal,"  which  tells  us  that  they  "  smoked 
old  Williams  to  a  Whig."  When  the  mob  let  him 
out,  he  signed  a  paper  promising  not  to  serve  on 
the  Mandamus  Council.1  At  Taunton,  some  five 
hundred  inhabitants  assembled  at  the  court  house, 
in  which  was  the  office  of  Daniel  Leonard,  to  ex 
press  their  sentiments  against  his  acceptance  of  a 
place  on  the  Mandamus  Council.  Mr.  Leonard 
disappeared,  and  the  crowd  dispersed  without  dis 
order  or  violence,  but  on  the  following  evening 
certain  "Sons  of  Belial"  fired  several  balls  into 
one  of  Leonard's  chamber  windows.2 

Thomas  Oliver,  the  Lieutenant-Governor  of  the 
province,  relates,  with  solicitous  detail,  the  story  of 
his  own  unwilling  resignation.  Early  in  the  morn 
ing,  a  number  of  inhabitants  of  Charlestown  called 
to  inform  him  that  a  large  body  of  people  from 
several  towns  of  the  country  were  on  their  way  to 
interview  him.  The  crowd  soon  appeared,  and  Mr. 
Olivar  went  out  to  inquire  the  meaning  of  their 
coming.  They  replied  that  they  "  came  peaceably 
to  i*quire  into  their  grievances  but  not  with  design 
to  hurt  any  man."  He  saw  that  they  were  land 
owners  of  the  neighboring  towns,  and  upon  being 


"American  Loyalists,"  p.  708. 
*Rivington's  Gazette,  Septembers,  1774. 


THE  FIRST  EXILES.  37 

asked  to  speak  to  them  did  so.  After  thanking 
him  for  his  advice  they  proceeded  on  their  way. 
Mr.  Oliver  then  interceded  with  General  Gage  to 
recall  some  soldiers  sent  from  Boston  to  restrain 
the  mob.  But,  in  the  afternoon,  he  saw  large  com 
panies  pouring  in  from  different  parts,  and  began  to 
fear  that  they  would  become  unmanageable.  He 
was  about  to  enter  his  carriage  when  a  crowd  of 
three  or  four  thousand,  one  quarter  of  them  armed, 
came  up  and  surrounded  his  house.  A  committee 
came  to  him  and  demanded  a  resignation  of  his 
seat  in  the  Council.  He  protested,  but  they  in 
sisted  upon  his  signing  a  paper.  Meanwhile,  a 
part  of  the  multitude  became  enraged  at  the  delay 
and  pressed  into  the  yard  swearing  vengeance  upon 
the  foes  of  their  liberties.  They  pressed  up  to  his 
window,  and  he  could  hear  them  swearing  they 
would  have  his  blood  if  he  refused.  His  family 
was  greatly  distressed  by  the  threats,  and,  moved 
by  their  solicitude,  he  gave  way  and  wrote  beneath 
the  recantation  :  "  my  house  at  Cambridge  being 
surrounded  by  4000  people,  in  compliance  with 
their  commands  I  sign  my  name,  "  Thomas  Oliver." 
The  committee  tried  to  persuade  the  people  to  ac 
cept  this,  and  Mr.  Oliver  saw  the  land-owners,  who 
had  come  in  the  morning,  using  their  utmost  en 
deavors  to  get  the  paper  received.  In  this  they 
succeeded,  but  could  not  save  him  from  some  in 
sults  by  those  who  were  armed.1  Just  as  the  crowd 

iSabine,  "American  Loyalists,"  p.  495. 


38  THE  LOYALISTS. 

had  come  to  an  understanding  with  Mr.  Oliver,  the 
Commissioner  of  the  Customs,  Mr.  Hallowell, 
passed  through  Cambridge  in  his  chaise.  The 
sight  of  him  inflamed  the  people,  and  over  a  hun 
dred  horsemen  started  in  pursuit.  The  affair 
threatened  to  rival  that  of  John  Gilpin,  but  the 
pursuers  were  finally  dissuaded  except  one,  who 
overtook  Mr.  Hallowell,  and  so  frightened  him 
that  he  left  his  chaise,  and  on  his  servant's  horse 
fled  to  Boston.1 

In  Worcester,  there  assembled  on  the  common 
some  fifteen  hundred  men  who  sent  a  committee  to 
Timothy  Paine,  one  of  the  council,  to  demand  satis 
faction  for  accepting  the  office.  He  delayed,  but 
finally  signed  a  confession,  which  he  was  compelled 
to  read  with  bared  head  before  the  people.  The 
crowd  then  dispersed  in  companies,  each  in  the 
direction  of  its  own  town.2 

The  milder  methods  of  social  reprobation  influ 
enced  the  resignation  of  other  members  of  the 
council.  A  number  of  the  indignant  people  of 
Plymouth  left  the  meeting-house,  when  George 
Watson  entered  on  Sunday  evening.  The  vener 
able  head  of  the  old  man  was  bowed  for  a  moment, 
and  then  he  arose  and  promised  to  resign  his  office.3 
When  Deacon  Edson,  a  councillor  from  Bridge- 
water,  stood  up  in  meeting  to  read  a  psalm,  the 

1  Rivingtori's  Gazette,  September  15,  1774. 
*Ibid.t  8,  1774. 
/.,  8,  I774- 


THE  FIRST  EXILES.  39 

congregation  refused  to  sing.  He,  however, 
"  hardened  his  heart  like  Pharaoh,"  and,  this  mild 
social  reprehension  having  failed,  he  was  driven 
from  his  home  by  a  mob,  and  took  refuge  in 
Boston.1 

The  Baronet,  Sir  William  Pepperell,  was  de 
nounced  by  his  neighbors  ;  and  the  people  of  his 
county,  in  convention,  passed  a  resolution  that,  as 
soon  as  the  leases  of  his  land  which  any  of  them 
held  had  expired,  they  would  withdraw  all  connec 
tion,  commerce  and  dealings  with  him  until  he 
resigned  his  seat.  The  same  treatment  was 
threatened  against  any  who  opposed  this  meas 
ure.2 

i  The  other  provisions  of  the  regulating  act  met 
With  the  same  opposition.  At  Great  Barrington, 
fifteen  hundred  men  assembled  at  the  opening  of 
the  courts.  They  thought  that  the  judges  were  to 
proceed  under  the  new  regulating  act,  and,  though 
assured  that  they  were  mistaken,  they  refused  to  let 
the  court  proceed.  The  judges  were  ordered  to 
leave  the  town  immediately,  and  they  complied.3 
In  the  court  house  at  Boston,  the  justices  and  bar 
risters  took  their  wonted  places,  but  no  one  would 
serve  as  juror  in  a  court  that  was  regarded  as  illegal. 
The  men  of  five  towns  assembled  to  warn  Colonel 
Gilbert  not  to  accept  the  office  of  high  sheriff.4 
iJtut.,  8,  1774. 

2Sabine,  "American  Loyalists,"  p.  522. 

3  "American  Archives,"  series  4,  Vol.  I.,  724. 

4 Rivingtori' 's  Gazette,  Septembers,  1774. 


40  THE   LOYALISTS. 

The  Attorney  General  was  threatened  by  a  mob  of 
boys  and  negroes,  and  some  glass  was  broken  in 
the  windows  of  his  residence.1 

Against  all  this  defiance,  Gage  issued  an  impotent 
proclamation  which  was  not  regarded  even  at  Salem 
under  his  very  eyes.  As  to  that  part  of  his  com 
mission  which  authorized  him  to  arrest  and  remove 
the  Patriot  leaders,  he  saw  the  temper  of  the  people 
and  forbore  for  the  present.  "  Should  that  be 
attempted,"  wrote  a  correspondent,  "it  would  pro 
duce  resistance  and  reprisals,  and  a  flame  through 
all  America  such  as  eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear 
heard,  neither  hath  it  entered  into  the  head  of  the 
minister  or  his  minions  to  conceive."  2 

The  situation  of  the  Tories,  who  were  not  in  Bos 
ton  under  Gage's  protection,3  was  fast  becoming  in 
tolerable.  The  addressers  of  Mr.  Hutchinson,  and 
the  protesters  against  the  public  measures  led  "a 
devil  of  a  life,"  wrote  a  Boston  Whig.  In  the 
country,  the  people  would  not  grind  their  corn,  and  in 
town  they  refused  to  purchase  from  or  sell  to  them.4 
Every  laborer  refused  them  service,  either  because 
of  the  general  tacit  agreement  or  by  formal  conven 
tion.  The  blacksmiths  of  Worcester  County,  forty 
three  in  number,  solemnly  covenanted  not  to  "do 
or  perform  any  blacksmith's  work,  or  business  of 

1  Ibid.,  September  15,  1774. 

2  "The  Remembrancer,"  I.,  60. 

~    3  Gage  placed  a  guard  at  the  door  of  every  Mandamus  Councillor, 
nd  there  was  a  patrol  every  night  in  the  streets. 
4Sabine,  "American  Loyalists,"  p.  136. 


THE  FIRST  EXILES.  41 

any  kind,  for  any  person  or  persons  commonly 
known  by  the  name  of  tories,"  nor  for  mandamus 
councillors  or  addressers,  "  all  of  whom  should  be 

\  held  in  contempt,  and  those  who  are  connected  with 
them  ought  to  separate  from  them,  laborers  to  shun 
their  vineyards,  merchants,  husbandmen  and  others 
to  withhold  their  commerce  and  supplies."  The 
resolution  was  distributed  far  and  wide  on  handbills 
and  in  the  newspapers. 

A  sanction  was  given  to  this  social  denunciation 

l  by  a  resolve  of  the  first  provincial  congress  of  Mas 
sachusetts,  which  had  been  organized  after  the  Suf 
folk  County  resolves  2  had  been  approved  by  the 
Continental  Congress.  The  provincial  congress 
resolved  that,  whereas  the  mandamus  councillors 
"  by  such  disgraceful,  such  detestable  conduct  "  had 
counteracted  the  will  of  the  province  and  the  Con 
tinental  Congress,  they  must  give  satisfaction  within 
ten  days  for  the  rmblication  of  the  resolve  by  pub 
lishing Tn  uft  the^Bosioh  papers  acknowledgments 
of  their  former  misconduct  and  renunciations  of 
their  commissions.  If  they  failed,  they  were  to  be 
considered  as  infamous  betrayers  of  their  country. 

1  Thorn  ton,  "The  Pulpit  of  the  American  Revolution,"  p.  194. 

2  The  Suffolk  County  resolves,  September  6,  1774,  declared  that 
the  king  had  forfeited  the  right  to  their  allegiance  by  violating  their 
charter,  that  the  Regulating  Act  was  null  and  void  and  officers  ap 
pointed  under  it  must  resign  at  once  ;   collectors  of  taxes  were  not 
to  pay  the  money  to  Gage's  treasurer,  and  the  towns  were  advised 
to  choose  their  own  militia  officers  ;  Gage  was  threatened  if  he  ar 
rested  any  one  for  political  reasons.     This  was  a  virtual  declaration 
of  rebellion  and  the  Continental  Congress  indorsed  it. 


42  THE   LOYALISTS. 

A  committee  should  cause  their  names  to  be  pub 
lished  repeatedly  and  entered  on  the  records  of 
each  town  as  rebels  against  the  state,  thus  sending 
"  them  down  to  posterity  with  the  infamy  they  de 
serve."  l  In  this  resolution  the  Whigs  put  the 
onus  of  rebellion  upon  the  Tory,  who  was  naturally 
surprised  at  being  charged  with  the  very  crime 
against  which  he  had  set  his  face. 

At  that  moment  "  Massachusettensis,"  whose 
letters,  John  Adams  thought,  shone  like  the  moon 
among  the  lesser  stars2  in  the  Tory  firmament, 
was  arraigning  the  province  for  its  resistance.  He 
merely  hinted  at  the  punishment  for  rebellion,  and 
insinuated  that  the  idea  ought  to  harrow  up  their 
souls.3  He  dwelt  upon  the  hopelessness  of  the  con 
flict,  showing  how  dearly  England  valued  her  colo 
nies  and  what  she  would  do  to  keep  them.  He 
maintained  that  a  considerable  part  of  the  men  of 
rjjjpperty^in  the  province  were  still  firmly  atfached 
to  the  British  government.  Bodies  of  men  com 
pelling  persons  to  disavow  their  sentiments,  to 
resign  commissions,  or  to  subscribe  leagues  and 
covenants,  had  wrought  no  change  in  their  senti 
ments.  They  were  only  more  firmly  attached  to 
government  and  wished  more  fervently  and  prayed 
more  devoutly  for  its  restoration.4 

1  "Journals  of  Each  Provincial  Congress  of  Massachusetts, "  p.  24. 

2  Tyler,  "  Literary  History  of  the  American  Revolution,"  I.,  357. 

3  "  Massachusettensis  "  took  occasion,  however,  in  a  later  pamph 
let  to  quote  all  the  English  statutes  against  treason  and  to  give  a 
careful  definition  for  the  benefit  of  his  Whig  readers. 

*  Pamphlet,  "Massachusettensis,"  December  12,  1774. 


THE  FIRST  EXILES.  43 

There  was  good  reason  for  the  fervency  of  their 
wishes  and  the  devoutness  of  their  prayers.  After 
Gage  began  fortifying  Boston  neck,  the  Tories  were 
seen  watching  the  work  and  viewing  the  encamp 
ment  "  with  the  greatest  pleasure  in  their  counte 
nances."  l  "Our  Duke  of  Alva,"  wrote  a  Whig, 
"  is  shut  up  with  his  troops  and  his  forlorn  Manda 
mus  Councillors  in  Boston."  2  Numbers  of  persons 
of  fortune  were  constantly  flocking  into  the  town 
of  Boston  as  a  place  of  refuge  from  the  vehement 
resentment  of  the  country  people  who  were  daily 
under  arms.3  Not  only  councillors,  but  judges  and 
protesters  and  addressers  had  been  obliged  to  fly 
to  the  city  of  refuge. 

They  reached  Boston  in  no  very  amiable  frame 
of  mind,  as  their  conversation  betrayed.  Gage  was 
constantly  importuned  to  treat  the  rebels  with 
greater  severity.  The  refugees,  with  nothing  to 
do,  needed  no  tempter  to  find  reckless  things  for. 
their  idle  tongues  to  say.  One  hoped  that  the 
rebels  would  swing  for  it ;  another  wanted  to  see 
the  blood  streaming  from  the  hearts  of  the  leaders, 
but  would  be  content  to  see  them  become  turnspits 
in  the  kitchen  of  some  English  noble.4  The  aristo 
cratic  Tory,  Madame  Higginson,  declared  it  would 
be  a  joy  to  her  to  ride  through  American  blood  to 

1  Frothingham,  "  Siege  of  Boston,"  p.  36. 

2  "The  Remembrancer,"  I.,  60. 

3  Rivingtorfs  Gazette,  October  6,  1774. 
*Trevelyan,  "American  Revolution,"  part  I.,  p.  198. 


44  THE  LOYALISTS. 

the  hubs  of  her  chariot  wheels.1  These  partizan 
amenities  were  soon  noised  abroad,  and  had  no 
small  part  in  creating  the  terrible  breach  in  the 
social  union  which  arrayed  father  against  son,  and 
brother  against  brother. 

One  night  in  September  of  1774,  letters  were 
thrown  into  the  camp  of  the  British  soldiers, 
addressed  "  to  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  his 
jVTajesty's  troops  at  Boston."  It  anticipated  that 
rebellion  would  soon  cause  the  King's  standard  to 
be  raised  in  Massachusetts,  and  suggested  that  the 
soldiers  ought  to  be  acquainted  with  the  authors  of 
;  the  rebellion.  The  list 2  of  the  offenders  was  fol 
lowed  by  an  exhortation  to  the  soldiers.  "  The 
friends  of  your  king  and  country  and  of  America 
hope  and  expect  it  from  you  soldiers  that  the  instant 
rebellion  happens,  that  you  will  put  the  above  per 
sons  immediately  to  the  sword,  destroy  their  houses 
and  plunder  their  effects.  It  is  just  that  they  should 
be  the  first  victims  to  the  mischief  they  have 
brought  upon  us."3 

It  is  more  than  probable  that  this  was  the  work 
and  sentiment  of  a  single  individual,  and  did  not 
represent  the  wish  of  any  body  of  Tories  ;  yet  it  was 

1  "  New  England  History  and  General  Register  for  1872,"  p.  431. 

2  The  list  contained  the  names  of  Samuel  Adams,  James  Bowdoin, 
Dr.  T.  Young,  Dr.  B.   Church,   Cap.  J.   Bradford,  Josiah  Quincy, 
Major  N.    Barber,  WrnT~Molineaux,  John  Hancock,  Wm.  Cooper, 
Dr.  Chancy,  Dr.  Cooper,  Thos.  Gushing,  Jos.  Greenleaf,  and  Wm. 
Denning. 

8  Rivingtori 's  Gazette,  September  8,  1774. 


THE  FIRST  EXILES.  45 

published  in  the  newspapers  and  added  venom  to 
the  Whig  hatred  of  the  King's  friends.  These 
sentimental  excesses  were  not,  it  must  be  added, 
confined  to  the  Tory  party. 

The  impatience  of  the  Loyalists  with  Gage's  in 
activity  was  mild  as  compared  with  that  of  the  minis 
terial  party  in  England.  He  was  called  a  "  luke 
warm  coward  "  and  his  ability  more  than  doubted. 
The  government  declared  Massachusetts  in  rebellion, 
closed  all  New  England  ports,  and  decided  to  in 
crease  the  army  at  Boston  to  ten  thousand  men, 
superseding  Gage  by  Howe.  Meanwhile,  Gage  was 
sent  positive  orders  to  arrest  Adams  and  Hancock, 
and  the  London  papers  promised  that  the  "  patri 
otic  noddles  of  the  Boston  Saints  "  should  soon 
decorate  Temple  Bar. 

Gage's  endeavor  to  accomplish  the  two  objects, 
the  destruction  of  the  military  stores  at  Concord, 
and  the  capture  of  Hancock  and  Adams  at  Lexing 
ton,  resulted  in  the  failure  of  both  attempts,  in  an 
ignominious  retreat  into  Boston  and  a  loss  of  two 
hundred  and  seventy-three  men,  to  say  nothing  of 
so  arousing  the  country  that,  within  a  few  days,  six 
teen  thousand  men  were  besieging  the  British  army 
in  Boston. 

The  events  of  Concord  and  Lexington  sent  re 
bellion  irrevocably  on  its  way.     It  also  determined 
the  fate  of  those  Tories  who  by  refraining  from 
violent  partizanship  had  escaped  the  previous  per- 
,  secutions.     Now^even  a  suspected  Tory  was  re- 


46  THE  LOYALISTS. 

garded  as  an  enemy  in  the  camp,  and  became  in- 
tolerabljg.  "  We  have  had  much  work  here  of  late," 
wrote  a  Massachusetts  Whig,  "  a  dark  plot  has  been 
discovered  of  sending  names  down  to  General 
Gage."  l  It  was  a  poor  excuse  for  persecution,  for 
Gage  could  not  seize  or  imprison  a  "  name,"  and 
he  was  not  in  position  to  seize  their  persons.  The 
records  of  the  committees  of  safety  show  a  great 
activity  in  reckoning  with  the  Tories.  Some  were 
sent  to  jail  and  closely  confined,  others  signed  a 
recantation  or  fled  to  avoid  that  humiliation.  In 
the  latter  case,  a  hue  and  cry  was  sent  after  them. 

Though  these  fugitives  usually  tried  to  reach 
Boston,  yet  there  were  stragglers  who  made  their 
way  to  Nantucket  where  some  remained  during  the 
war.  Others  fled  to  colonies  where  the  fever  of 
revolution  was  not  yet  so  high  as  in  New  England. 
Nevertheless,  their  offence  seemed  to  follow  them. 
Samuel  Curwen,  who  sailed  for  Philadelphia  after 
he  had  refused  to  recant  for  signing  an  address,  was 
there  again  solicited  to  sign  a  recantation.  He 
became  fearful  lest,  like  Cain,  he  had  some  dis 
couraging  mark  upon  him  or  a  strong  feature  of 
Toryism.2 

If  they  escaped  at  all  they  had  cause  to  rejoice. 
Letters  soon  followed  them  telling  of  insults  and 
threats  to  the  friends  that  remained.3  Their  private 

*  "The  Remembrancer,"  I.,  98. 

2 Curwen,  "Journal  and  Letters,"  pp.  26,  27. 

3  "Letters  of  James  Murray,  Loyalist,"  pp.  176-178. 


THE  FIRST  EXILES.  47 

coaches  were  burned  or  pulled  in  pieces,  loads  of 

V  the  rich  importer's   goods  were  attacked  and  de- 

1  stroyed  or  stolen,  and  his  effigy  hung  up  in  a  con- 

jspicuous  place  in  sight  of  his  house,  during  the  day, 

to  be  burned   or  ignominiously  treated   at  night. 

One  had  his  riding  horse,  with  saddle  and  bridle 

tarred  and  an  image  on  its  back,  driven  through 

j  town  with  an  infamous  figure  pinned  on  the  figure's 

1  breast.     Others  were  frightened  by  finding  incen- 

\diary  letters  which   intimated  terrible  tortures  for 

&11  loyalists. 

Even  the  abandoned  property  of  a  Tory  was  not 
exempt  from  attack.  A  loyal  woman  wrote  that 
on  her  estate  "  every  beauty  of  art  or  nature,  every 
elegance,  which  it  cost  years  of  care  and  toil  in 
bringing  to  perfection,  is  laid  low."  Complaints 
were  frequent  to  the  provincial  committee  of  safety 
of  the  waste  and  destruction  of  the  property  of 
those  who  had  left  their  homes  in  sundry  towns  of 
Massachusetts.2  Those  who  staid  to  care  for  the 
property  of  refugee  owners  were  in  constant  terror 
of  attack.  One  wrote  that  the  business  of  every 
evening  was  to  see  that  the  fire-arms  were  loaded 
and  the  lights  properly  placed  in  the  store  and 
house,  and  that  this  very  care  made  them  the  more 
suspected. 

The  fear  of  Tory  influence  was  so  great  that  the 
post  was  stopped,  the  mails  were  broken  open  and 

1  "Letters  of  James  Murray,  Loyalist,"  p.  246. 

2  "American  Archives,"  series  4,  Vol.  II. ,  1352. 


48  THE  LOYALISTS. 

their  letters  taken  out.  Gage  complained  that  by 
those  means  the  most  "  injurious  and  inflammatory 
accounts "  of  Lexington  and  Concord  had  been 
spread  throughout  the  country,  because  only  the 
Whig  stories  could  circulate.1 

/  Still,  all  this  persecution  and  lawlessness  was 
bloodless,  and  the  wonder  is  that  under  the  circum 
stances  the  people  were  so  self-contained.  There 
was  no  murderous  rioting  by  mad  and  uncontrolla 
ble  mobs,  but  everything  was  done,  though  some 
times  roughly,  as  if  with  legal  sanction.  Even  the 
destruction  of  Tory  property  was  hardly  more  than 
happens  to  abandoned  property  in  times  of  perfect 
peace.  The  preservation  of  a  fair  degree  of  social 
order  seems  to  have  been  due  to  the  continued 
stability  of  local  government  which  was  developed 
in  America  as  nowhere  else  in  the  world,  and  which 
now  remained  when  the  power  of  the  royal  govern 
ment  was  destroyed.  A  Massachusetts  gentleman 
wrote  to  a  friend  in  London  : 2  "  The  state  of  this 
province  is  a  great  curiosity.  Four  hundred  thou 
sand  people  are  in  a  state  of  nature  and  yet  as  still 
and  peaceable  as  ever  they  were  when  government 
was  in  full  vigor.  We  have  neither  legislators, 
nor  magistrates,  nor  executive  officers.  We  have 
no  officers  but  the  military  ones.  Of  these  we 
have  a  multitude  chosen  by  the  people  and  exercis 
ing  them  with  more  authority  and  spirit  than  ever 

1  "The  Remembrancer,"  I.,  101. 

2  Late  in  January,  1775. 


THE  FIRST  EXILES.  49 

any  did  who  had  commissions  from  a  governor."  l 
A  Tory  thought  it  astonishing  that  those  who  were 
in  pursuit  of  liberty  should  suffer  arbitrary  power, 
"  in  such  an  hideous  form  and  squalid  hue,"  to 
get  a  footing  among  them.2  The  only  way  that 
Gage  could  account  for  their  submission  to  that 
authority  was  that  it  was  a  tyranny  which  they  had 
erected  themselves. 

It  gave  the  Patriots  a  sense  of  relief  to  have  made 
the  plunge  and  to  have  the  strain  of  apprehension 
removed.  The  result  of  Concord  had  approached 
so  near  a  victory  that  they  felt  easier  on  the  score 
of  their  own  abilities.  The  great  Tory  pamphleteer 
had  recently  prophecied  that  nothing  short  of  a 
miracle  could  gain  them  a  single  battle.  He  had 
reminded  them  that  the  British  armies  had  "  already 
reaped  immortal  honors  in  the  iron  harvest  of  the 
field."  War  was,  he  warned  them,  no  longer  a 
simple,  but  an  intricate  science  only  to  be  learned 
by  long  years  of  study.3  In  his  last  pamphlet  he 
had  closed  with  forebodings  as  terrible  as  the  fateful 
vision  of  some  ancient  prophet :  "  May  the  God  of 
our  forefathers  direct  you  in  the  way  that  leads  to 
peace  and  happiness,  before  your  feet  stumble  on 
the  dark  mountains  —  before  the  evil  days  come 
when  you  shall  say,  we  have  no  pleasure  in  them."4 

K'The  Remembrancer,"  I.,  58. 

2  "Massachusettensis,"  pp.  35,  36. 

3  Ibid.,  April  3,  1775. 
*Ibid.t  April  3,  1775. 


50  THE  LOYALISTS. 

There  was  an  earnestness  in  these  solemn  words 
that  won  attention  even  from  the  most  violent  ad 
vocates  of  revolution. 

But  it  was  no  time  for  political  precept.  Events 
were  moving  with  too  much  momentum,  and  the 
sword  for  the  moment  dominated  the  pen.  The 
story  of  Concord  was  not  a  month  old  before  the 
capture  of  Crown  Point  and  Ticonderoga  elated  the 
Whig  and  withered  the  Tory  hopes.  Meanwhile, 
the  second  Continental  Congress  met  and,  with  little 
delay,  adopted  the  New  England  army,  besieging 
Boston,  as  the  "  Continental  Army,"  and  with  great 
wisdom  chose  Washington  as  commander-in-chief. 
He,  more  certainly  than  any  other  military  man 
then  fitted  to  lead,  was  the  man  to  disappoint  the 
cynical  loyalist  who  thought  that  a  title  and  a 
nabob's  fortune  would  bring  about  a  happy  catas 
trophe  in  that  political  drama.1  Before  Washing 
ton  could  reach  his  army,  it  had  scorned  the  procla 
mation  of  Gage,  offering  free  pardon  to  all  rebels 
who  would  lay  down  their  arms,  and  had  fought 
the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill. 

The  Tories  in  Boston  had  little  part  in  that  battle 
(except  giving  information  and  advice,  which,  had 
it  been  heeded,  would  have  saved  the  British  army 
some  of  its  bravest  officers  and  men.  Those  with 
military  training  had  advised  that  the  attack  be 
made  in  the  rear,  but  were  ignored  by  the  English 
officers,  who  did  not  believe  that  the  Americans 

»  "The  Remembrancer,"  Part  III.,  46. 


THE  FIRST  EXILES.  51 

would  fight.  Gage,  reconnoitering  the  American 
position  with  his  glass,  asked  a  Tory,  "  Who  ap 
pears  to  be  in  command?"  The  Tory  recognized 
Prescott.  "  Will  he  fight  ?"  inquired  Gage.  "  Yes 
sir,"  was  the  reply,  "  he  is  an  old  soldier,  and  will 
fight  as  long  as  a  drop  of  blood  remains  in  his 
veins  !"  l  He  knew  his  fellow  countrymen  better 
than  did  the  blindly  confident  British. 

Curwen,  a  refugee  in  England  from  Whig  perse 
cution,  was  outraged  on  hearing  Englishmen  speak 
of  Americans  as  cowards  and  poltroons.  He  con 
fided  to  his  journal  that  he  wanted  those  "conceited 
islanders  to  learn  by  some  knock-down,  irrefragable 
argument  that,  without  regular  standing  armies,  our 
continent  can  furnish  brave  soldiers  and  judicious, 
expert  commanders."  2  Bunker  Hill  went  a  long 
way  to  furnish  such  an  argument.  There  was. 
some  American  pride  in  the  most  confirmed  Tory 
heart  as  the  returning  British  soldiers  confessed 
that  the  rebels  were  not  such  a  disorderly  rabble  as 
many  supposed.  All  that  night  the  chaises  and 
chariots,  which  the  loyalists  had  sent  to  the  water 
side  to.  bring  home  the  dead  and  wounded,  filed 
slowly  through  the  streets  of  Boston.3 

At  first,  the  metropolis  had  been  a  kind  of  sanc 
tuary  for  the  Massachusetts  Tories.  The  fugitives 
had  only  to  reach  that  and  be  at  rest. x  Although 

1  Frothingham,  "  Siege  of  Boston, "  p.  126. 
2 Curwen,  "Journal  and  Letters,"  p.  97. 
3Trevelyan,  "American  Revolution,"  p.  337. 


52  THE   LOYALISTS. 

they  were  deprived  of  some  of  the  comforts  and 
luxuries,  they  wrote  to  outside  friends,  yet  their 
being  in  a  place  of  safety  lessened  the  want  of  these 
conveniences.  They  wished  that  their  friends,  too, 
were  out  of  reach  of  the  "Tory  hunters."  l  "If 
here,  the  King  will  give  you  provisions  and  pay  you 
wages,"  wrote  an  anxious  father  to  his  son,2  and  he 
added,  that  at  home  a  Tory  would  only  be  robbed 
by  the  rebels,  who  "  are  more  savage  and  cruel  than 
heathens  or  any  other  creatures,  and,  it  is  generally 
thought,  than  devils."  To  one  who  looked  upon 
the  outside  world  as  made  up  of  people  of  this  de 
scription,  Boston  was  little  less  than  a  paradise. 

But,  even  before  Bunker  Hill,  the  scarcity  of  pro 
visions  had  caused  much  distress.  Gage  had  per 
mitted  people  within  the  city  to  remove  to  the 
country  with  their  valuable  effects,  and  the  Provincial 
Congress  had  resolved  that  those  in  the  country  who 
were  inclined  to  enter  Boston  should  be  permitted. 
The  removal  from  the  city  became  so  general  as  to 
alarm  the  Tories,  who  reasoned  that  none  but  Whigs 
would  care  to  leave,  and,  when  they  were  all  gone, 
the  town  would  be  attacked  and  burnt.3  Their 
spirited  remonstrance  resulted  in  gradual  restrictions 
upon  the  freedom  of  departure.  First  the  removal 
of  merchandise  was  prohibited,  then  provisions  and 

1  Frothingham,  "  Siege  of  Boston." 

2Sabine,  "American  Loyalists,"  p.  322,  Thos.  Gilbert  to  his  son. 

3 1  have  constructed  this  account  from  original  material,  chiefly 
manuscript  quoted  by  Frothingham  in  his  monograph,  "The  Siege 
of  Boston,"  see  pages  95,  97,  235,  277,  280,  312. 


THE  FIRST  EXILES.  53 

medicine,  and  finally  even  passes  for  persons  were 
refused.  Thus,  with  no  provisions  coming  in  and 
no  people  going  out,  the  city  of  Boston  was  soon 
subjected  to  a  somewhat  lenten  diet.  Even  the; 
commander-in-chief  exclaimed,  according  to  the 
satirist,  "  Three  weeks,  ye  Gods  !  nay,  three  long 
years  it  seems  since  roast  beef  I  have  touched, 
except  in  dreams."  l  A  British  officer,  son  of  Lord 
Derby,  vowed  that  he  had  not  tasted  meat  twice 
since  his  arrival.  The  Tories,  of  course,  fared  no 
better  than  these  eminent  persons.  We  know  in 
fact  that  salt  pork  or  peas  and  an  occasional  meal 
of  fish  was  gratefully  partaken.  An  egg  was  a 
rarity.  The  distress  in  private  families  was  ex 
treme.  In  September,  there  was  momentary  relief 
upon  the  arrival  of  some  ships  with  provisions, 
but  the  prophecy  of  the  Gazette,  that  Boston  that 
winter  would  be  "the  emporium  of  America  for 
plenty  and  pleasure,"  proved  a  melancholy  fail 
ure.  In  December,  there  were  neither  vegetables, 
flour  nor  pulse  to  be  spared  the  inhabitants  from 
the  King's  stores.  "  The  distress  of  the  troops  and 
inhabitants  in  Boston  is  great  beyond  all  possible 
description,"  wrote  a  witness. 

The  want  of  fuel  was  quite  as  pressing  as  that  of 
food.  The  advance  of  winter  could  have  been  meas 
ured  by  the  stages  of  demolition  in  Charlestown. 
All  that  was  left,  after  the  bombardment  and  fire  on 
the  day  of  Bunker  Hill,  went  up  the  Tory  chim- 

iTrevelyan,  "  American  Revolution,"  p.  350. 


54  THE  LOYALISTS. 

neys  or  warmed  the  British  soldiers.  This  wreck 
age  was  followed  by  the  garden  fences  and  the 
doors  and  rafters  of  Boston  houses.  Old  Nortk4 
Chapel  and  the  steeples  of  West  Church  afforded 
no  small  supply,  and  the  Whigs  could  have  forgiven 
such  profanation,  but,  when  the  old  Liberty  Tree 
was  made  to  yield  fourteen  cords  of  wood,  the 
Patriots  "hoped  that  the  authors  of  the  sacrilege 
might  be  warm  enough  in  the  hereafter.1  In  spite 
of  all  this  fire-worship  there  was  much  suffering 
from  the  cold. 

(Lack  of  food  and  warmth  so  reduced  the  physi 
cal  strength  of  the  besieged  that  disease  found  them 
an  easy  prey.     The  mortality  varied  from  ten  to 
[thirty  each  day,  and  the  bells  were  not  tolled  for 
lithe  dead,  lest  the  mournful  sound  should  dispourage 
jjthe  living.2     Amid  all   these   vicissitudes   nothing 
sustained  the  Loyalist  but  the  pleasing  sense  of 
martyrdom  to  a  worthy  cause,  and  confidence  in  the 
ultimate  triumph  of  the  power  of  Great  Britai^ 

Inactivity  in  the  midst  of  such  scenes  would  have 
been  unbearable.  As  early  as  the  day  of  Concord 
and  Lexington,  two  hundred  Tory  merchants  and 
traders  sent  their  names  and  offered  to  arm  as 

1 A  tract  entitled  "Voyage  to  Boston  "  contains  the  lines  refer 
ring  to  a  soldier  reported  to  have  been  killed  while  cutting  down 
the  tree.  The  Genius  of  the  Shade  marked  him  — 

"to  dine, 
Where  unsnufifed  lamps  burn  low  at  Pluto's  shrine." 

"Marshall,  "The  Remembrancer,"  p.  38. 


THE  FIRST  EXILES.  55 

volunteers.1  The  offer  was  accepted,  and  they 
were  enrolled  under  General  Ruggles,  and  placed 
on  duty.  Later,  the  general  orders  of  Howe,  who 
had  succeeded  Gage,  allude  to  three  companies, 
called  Loyal  American  Associators,  who  were  to 
be  distinguished  by  a  white  sash  around  the  left 
.arm.  Some  Irish  merchants  formed  a  company  of 
Loyal  Irish  Volunteers,  and  a  white  cockade  was 
their  distinctive  emblem.  A  company  known  as 
the  Royal  Fencible  Americans  was  formed  which 
received  a  gratuity  and  pay.  Not  content  with 
the  willing  organization  of  the  zealous  Tories, 
Howe  recommended  late  in  October  that  the  in 
habitants  associate  themselves  into  companies, 
which  were  to  be  employed  solely  within  the  pre 
cincts  of  the  town  to  preserve  order  and  good 
government.  They  were  to  be  allowed  fuel  and 
provision  equal  to  the  allowance  of  the  troops. 
There  was  an  implied  threat  that  all  would  do  well 
to  obey  the  recommendation. 

Besides  this  military  employment,  the  inhabitants 
were  busied  in  cleaning  the  streets  and  patrolling 
them  at  night.  Prominent  Tories  were  employed 
in  taking  a  careful  census  of  the  city ;  one  was 
appointed  sole  auctioneer,  which  kept  him  busy 
enough  at  a  time  when  migration  was  the  main 
business  of  society.  Another  was  commissioned 

1  This  account  of  Tory  military  organization  has  also  been  con 
structed  from  original  material  contained  in  Frothingham's  "  Siege 
of  Boston,"  see  pages  95,  253,  277,  279,  295. 


56  THE   LOYALISTS. 

to  receive  the  goods  of  people  who  wished  to  leave 
them  in  trust. 

Even  amusements  were  not  wanting  to  the  be- 
leagured  town.  An  officer  wrote  home,  "  we  had 
a  theater,  we  had  balls,  and  there  is  actually  a 
subscription  set  on  foot  for  a  masquerade.  Eng 
land  seems  to  have  forgotten  us,  and  we  endeavored 
to  forget  ourselves."  l  Faneuil  Hall  was  converted 
into  a  theater,  and,  one  day  in  December,  a  Boston 
paper  announced  that  a  new  farce  was  to  be  pre 
sented,  called  the  "  Blockade  of  Boston,"  to  which 
a  Whig  paper  retorted  that  they  would  more  likely 
be  presented  a  tragedy  called  "  The  Bombardment 
of  Boston."  Nor  was  that  contingency  so  far  re 
moved. 

On  the  night  of  the  fourth  of  March,  Dorchester 
Heights  were  fortified  by  the  Americans.  "  Re 
doubts  were  raised,"  wrote  an  officer,  "as  if  by 
the  genii  belonging  to  Alladin's  wonderful  lamp. 
Adieu  balls  and  masquerades  !  " 

A  soldier  of  fortune  might  take  thus  coolly  the 
necessity  of  evacuation,  but  "  the  last  trump,"  as 
Washington  wrote,  "  could  not  have  struck  the 
Tories  with  greater  consternation."  After  all  the 
blind  faith  that  they  had  placed  in  Great  Britain's 
grandeur  and  prowess,  to  see  that  prop  withdrawn, 
and  themselves  left  at  the  mercy  of  their  enraged 
countrymen,  was  a  terrible  realization.  "  One  or 
two  have  done,"  commented  Washington,  "  what 

J"The  Remembrancer,"  Vol.  II.,  104. 


THE  FIRST  EXILES.  57 

a  great  number  ought  to  have  done  long  ago,  com 
mitted  suicide."  With  little  commiseration,  he 
added,  "  By  all  accounts  there  never  existed  a 
more  miserable  set  of  beings,  than  these  wretched 
creatures  now  are."  l  There  was  but  one  consola 
tion,  as  one  of  them  expressed  it,  "neither  Hell, 
Hull  nor  Halifax,  can  afford  worse  shelter  than 
Boston."  Acting  upon  this  alliterative  sentiment, 
most  of  them  chose  to  commit  themselves  "  to 
the  mercy  of  the  waves  at  a  tempestuous  season 
rather  than  meet  their  offended  countrymen."  2 

When  Howe  began  his  hurried  embarkation,  the 
refugee  inhabitants  were  permitted  to  go  first. 
There  were  few  transports,  and  orders  were  given 
to  refugees  to  carry  nothing  but  necessaries.3  They, 
however,  found  means  to  employ  the  men  belong 
ing  to  the  transports  in  embarking  their  merchan 
dise  as  well ;  by  which  means,  as  a  witness  relates, 
several  of  the  vessels  were  entirely  filled  with 
private  property.  It  was  an  easy  matter  in  the 
confusion,  for  "  it  was  not  like  breaking  up  camp 
where  every  man  knows  his  duty,"  but  like  "de 
parting  your  country  with  your  wives,  your  servants, 
and  your  household  furniture."  3  "  Nothing  can  be 
more  diverting  than  to  see  the  town  in  its  present 
situation,"  wrote  a  Whig,  "all  is  uproar  and  con 
fusion;  carts,  trucks,  wheelbarrows,  handbarrows, 

1  Washington,  "Letters,"  March  31,  1776. 

2  Frothingham,  "  Siege  of  Boston,"  p.  312. 

3  "The  Remembrancer,"  Vol.  II.,  108. 


58  THE  LOYALISTS. 

coaches,  chaises,  are  driving  as  if  the  very  devil 
was  after  them."  l  The  lawless,  both  soldiers  and 
Tories,  took  advantage  of  the  turmoil.  Large 
quantities  of  the  public  stores  were  abandoned, 
while  individuals  carried  away  their  plunder. 

It  was  in  a  sad  plight  that  the  fleet  at  last  sailed 
away  under  the  protection  of  three  men-of-war. 
Abigail  Adams,  looking  out  from  Penn's  Hill,  re 
ported  it  as  the  largest  fleet  ever  seen  in  America. 
Upward  of  one  hundred  and  seventy  sail  could  be 
counted ;  they  looked  like  a  forest.2  The  trans 
ports  were  mostly  small  schooners,  and  on  their 
top-heavy  decks  were  huddled  a  wretched  throng 
of  soldiers  and  refugees.  In  Benjamin  Hallowell's 
cabin  "  there  were  thirty-seven  persons  —  men, 
women  and  children  ;  servants,  masters  and  mis 
tresses  ;  obliged  to  pig  together  on  the  floor,  there 
being  no  berths."3  It  was  impossible,  thought  one 
of  them,  that  more  events  could  concur  to  render 
their  distress  complete,  and  their  ruin  almost  in 
evitable.  They  remembered  that  March  was  the 
most  tempestuous  month  of  the  year  on  the  Ameri 
can  coast,  and  feared  that  without  a  miracle  the 
wretched  fleet  must  be  dispersed  and  lost.4  In 
spite  of  their  misgivings,  however,  the  crazy  fleet 

l"  Memorial  History  of  Boston,"  Vol.  III.,  164. 
*Ibid.t  Vol.  III.,  174. 

3  Quoted  by  Trevelyan,  "American  Revolution,"  p.  404. 

4  "The  Remembrancer,"  II.,  108. 


THE  FIRST  EXILES.  59 

with  its  nine  hundred  and  more1  fugitive  Loyalists   / 
arrived  after  six  days  on  the  Nova  Scotia  coast. 

1  A  list  of  the  refugees  reveals  that  there  were  thirteen  members 
of  the  Mandamus  Council  together  with  sixty-six  members  of  their 
families,  37  custom  house  officers,  95  members  of  their  families. 
There  were  132  families  and  92  single  men.  Fifteen  merchants 
were  noted.  The  significance  of  these  figures  will  be  noted  else 
where. 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE    INQUISITION. 
fj 

HOWEVER  distressing  the  fortune  of  the  Tories 
I  W-ho  had  sailed  away Into  ^olitkaljgdle",  at  least  it 
gave  them  freedom  of  opinion  at  the  expense  of 
K  pKp^ical  disTomfoft.  They  'were  no  longer  sub 
jected  to  the  kind  of  apprehensions  that  had  been 
their  shame  by  day  and  their  terror  hv  «iV -«•  Back 
in  the  rebellious  colonies  the  tide  of  persecution  was 
still  rising.  Tojiurnjrory  pampKIets  atlhe  stake, 
'Jf  tptar  and  feather  and  nail  them  to  a  whipping 
post,  had  for  a  time  contented  the  "  Sons  of  Licen 
tiousness,"  as  Liberty's  sons  had  come  to  be  termed 
among  the  Loyalists.  A  wag  would  perhaps  warn 
the  author  or  printer  to  keep  himself  out  of  the  fire, 
or  remind  him  that  the  law  of  tar  and  feathers  had 
not  been  repealed,  but  the  person  of  the  offender 
was  in  no  immediate  danger.  To  nail  up  the  pulpit 
of  a  loyal  minister,  or  to  paint  out  the  word  tea  on 
a  Tory  sign  and  burn  the  confiscated  leaves  in  a 
public  square,  were  only  "  foolish  freaks  of  patriotic 
noddles."  But,  after  the  first  battle  with  the  Brit 
ish  had  been  fought,  the  person  of  the  Tory  became 
as  intolerable  as  his  opinion. 
60 


THE  INQUISITION.  6 1 

To  become  the  object  of  persecution,  it  was  no 
longer  necessary  that  an  address  or  protest  be 
signed  or  a  pamphlet  written  or  a  violent  sentiment 
uttered  against  the  revolutionary  movement.  If  the 
position  or  religious  creed,  or  relationship  of  a  per 
son  seemed  in  any  way  to  indicate  Tory  sympathy, 
he  must  clearly  and  publicly  demonstrate  his  alle 
giance  to  the  popular  cause.  "  Nothing  will  go 
down  at  present  it  seems,"  commented  a  Tory,  "  but 
measures  truly  inflammatory." 

Neglect  or  failure  to  meet  the  demands  of  the 
community  resulted  in  a  visit  from  the  Sons  of 
Liberty,  whose  rough  horse-play  got  them  de 
nounced  as  "poor  degenerate  children,"  "accursed 
children  to  whom  is  reserved  the  blackness  of  dark 
ness  forever."  "  Poor  Parson  Peters,"  the  author 
of  this  invective  and  one  of  their  victims,  escaped 
easily  enough  with  his  clothes  and  gown  torn  and 
a  punch  bowl  broken  while  the  mob  was  searching 
his  house  for  firearms.  His  friends,  however,  were 
less  reverently  abused  and  two  of  them  tarred  and 
feathered.2  Tarring  and  feathering  was  the  favorite 
vice  of  the  Whig  mobs,  but  was  varied  in  cases  by 
hoisting  the  victim  upon  a  liberty  pole.  A  New 
York  Tory  gravely  complained  that  he  was  hoisted 
upon  the  landlord's  sign  and  there  exposed  in  com 
pany  with  a  dead  catamount.3  Another  was  put  in 
the  village  pound  and  had  herrings  thrown  over  for 

1  Rivingtori 's  Gazette,  November  17,  1774. 

2  Force's  "  Archives,"  series  4,  Vol.  I.,  715-718. 
3Sabine,  "  American  Loyalists,"  p.  118. 


62  THE   LOYALISTS. 

.him  to  eat.  Such  cases  were,  however,  the  whims 
and  vagaries  of  persecution,  while  tar  and  feathers 
became  Jhe_a£cepted_antidote  for  TonrisqL.jfo-.-all 
the_rebelHng  colonies. 

The  persecution  of  the  Tories  was  not  long  left 
to  those  "mushrooms,"  as  they  were  derisively 
called,  those  "  exotics,  styled  the  Sons  of  Liberty." 
As  early  as  1772,  committees  of  correspondence 
had  been  organized  throughout  Massachusetts,  and 
in  the  following  year  intercolonial  committees  were 
formed  in  the  remaining  colonies.  These  were  at 
first  used  with  great  effect  to  secure  unity  of  action. 
Adams  exclaimed  in  admiration  :  "  What  an  engine  ! 
France  imitated  it  and  produced  a  revolution."  1 
Leonard,  with  Tory  abhorrence,  pronounced  it  the 
foulest,  subtlest  and  most  venomous  serpent  ever 
issued  from  the  egg  of  sedition.2 

As  the  activity  of  the  Whigs  increased,  new  com 
mittees  were  created  with  powers  that  made  them 
an  especial  terror  to  the  Tories.  The  birth  of  these 
committees  is  described  by  one  who  leaves  us  in 
no  doubt  as  to  his  sympathies,  yet  whose  picture 
has  a  likelihood  that  carries  conviction.  "  Com 
mittees  are  appointed  at  county  meetings,"  he 
writes,  "where  it  is  notorious  not  one  fourth  of  the 
freeholders  attend."  3  "The  resolutions  are  drawn 

1  John  Adams,  "Letters,"  X.,  197. 

2  "Massachusettensis." 

3  Rivington  reports  an  instance  where  ' '  three  or  four  furious  sons 
of  liberty"  took  the  occasion  of  a  funeral  for  selecting  twelve  com 
mittee  men. 


THE  INQUISITION.  63 

up  by  some  zealous  partizan,  perhaps  by  some  fiery 
spirit  ambitiously  solicitous  of  forcing  himself  into 
public  notice."  .  .  .  "The  orator  mounts  the  ros 
trum  and  in  some  preconceived  speech,  heightened 
no  doubt  with  all  the  aggravations  which  the  fer 
tility  of  his  genius  can  suggest,  exerts  all  the  power 
of  elocution  to  heat  his  audience  with  that  blaze 
of  patriotism  with  which  he  conceives  himself  in 
spired.1  .  .  .  The  threat  of  tyranny  and  the  terror 
of  slavery  are  artfully  set  before  them  ;  a  meas 
ure  need  only  be  proposed  to  be  resolved  upon  —  a 
measure  from  which  a  little  reflection  would  have 
made  them  retract  with  horror."  The  result,  wrote 
another,  is  that  the  government  of  the  country  is 
completely  committed  to  those  who  prevail  with 
their  tongues.  It  is  cantoned  out  into  new  dis 
tricts,  and  subjected  to  the  jurisdiction  of  these 
committees,  who,  not  only  without  any  known  law, 
but  directly  in  the  teeth  of  all  law  whatever,  issue 
citations,  sit  in  judgment,  and  inflict  pains  and  pen 
alties  on  all  whom  they  are  pleased  to  consider  as 
delinquents.2  In  reply  to  the  charge  of  illegality, 

comiTlon 


.. 
sense,  tfaejegality  of  an  action  depended  upon  the 

approval  of  the  majority  of  the  community!     They 
offered  their  new  creed  that  the  people  ruled. 

When   the   system  of   committees  was   entirely 
organized,  there  were  committees  of  safety  for  the 

1  Rivingtori1  s  Gazette,  July  28,  1774. 

2  Baucher,  "A  View  of  the  Revolution,"  pp.  319-321. 


64  THE   LOYALISTS. 

entire  province  and  local  committees  with  a  juris 
diction  bounded  by  the  existing  political  divisions. 
Some  were  standing  committees,  and  some  had 
merely  a  passing  or  occasional  existence.  In  Mary 
land,  the  provincial  council  of  safety  was  the  per 
manent  executive  committee  of  the  provisional 
revolutionary  government.1  Sudden  emergencies 
called  for  special  committees,  as  was  that  appointed 
by  the  New  York  convention  to  look  out  for  con 
spiracies  against  the  people,2  and  that  sent  by  the 
Connecticut  assembly  into  the  Tory  section  of  the 
state  to  convene  the  dangerous  persons  and  put 
them  under  guard.3  There  were  committees  to 
meet  every  loyal  demonstration.  Literally,  "  le 
gions  of  senators  infested  the  land."  "  From  gar 
rets,  cellars,  rushing  through  the  street,  the  new 
born  statesmen  in  committee  meet,"  the  Tory 4  poet 
wrote  with  a  sneer.  There  were  wheels  within 
wheels  in  this  great  revolutionary  machine.  Local 
committees  looked  to  the  state  committee  for  advice, 
when  doubtful  cases  arose,  and  received  from  it  such 
orders  as  would  make  action  in  the  state  uniform ; 
while  both,  in  cases  requiring  interprovincial  action, 
looked  to  the  Continental  Congress. 

In  respect  to  the  Tories,  the  powers  given  the 
committees  of  safety  had  a  great  similarity,  though 

1  "  Archives  of  Maryland,"  1777-1778,  Journal  and  Correspond 
ence  of  Committee  of  Safety. 

2  "Public  Papers  of  Geo.  Clinton,"  Vol.  I.,  360. 

3  "Public  Records  of  the  State  of  Connecticut,"  Vol.  L,  27. 

4  "  Loyalist  Poetry,"  p.  2. 


THE  INQUISITION.  65 

some  states  granted  them  more  arbitrary  power 
than  others.  The  provincial  congress  of  North 
Carolina  conferred  upon  its  committee  thlTpQwer  to 
examine  and^onunit  persons  accused  on  oath  of 
practices  inimical  to  America  — that  is,  inimical  to 
the  revolutionary  party.  They  were  also  to  restrain 
persons  trying  to  leave  the  colonies.1  The  highest 
executive  power,  that  of  pardon,  was  granted  the 
Virginia  committee  of  safety  by  the  legislature  of 
that  state.2  In  time,  these  committees  were  made 
the  instruments  for  enforcing;  the  most  arbitrary 
measures  which  were  directed  againstth^Tory  party. 
The  powers  w^re  s"o  absoluteand  thfi^ministra- 
tion  so  despotic,  that  the  Tories  themselves  were 
soon  driven  to  take  up  the  crv  for  liberty.  "  If  I 
must  be  enslaved  let  it  be  by  a  king  at  least,  and 
not  by  a  parcel  of  upstart,  lawless  committee  men," 
cried  one.  ''If  I  must  be  devoured  let  me  be 
devoured  by  the  jaws  of  a  lion,  and  not  be  gnawed 
to  death  by  rats  and  vermin  !  "  3  He  went  on  to 
picture  the  "pragmatical  committee-men"  coming 
into  a  house  and  examining  the  tea-canisters,  and 
molasses  jugs,  and  the  petticoats  of  the  wife  and 
daughters,  and,  in  his  wrath,  dared  them  to  come  to 
his  home  on  such  a  domineering  errand  ;  but  he 
judiciously  neglected  to  give  his  real  name  or  the 
whereabouts  of  his  dwelling. 

1  "Col.  Recs.  of  N.  C,"  Vol.  X.,  580. 

2  "  Henning's  Statutes  at  Large,"  Vol.  IX.,  101. 

3 Pamphlet  by  the  " Westchester  Farmer,"  "Free  Thoughts," 
pp.  13-19. 
6 


66  THE  LOYALISTS. 

The  records  kept  by  the  committees  of  safety 
prove,  beyond  the   possibility  of  doubt,  the  Tory 
charges  that  committee  rule  was  despotic  and  tyran 
nous  ;  but  it  was   the   despotism   and   tyranny  of 
|  revolution.     The  freedom  of  speech  was  suppressed, 
*  the  liberty  of  the  press   destroyed,  the  voice   of 
j  truth  silenced,  and  ^throughout  the_colonies  there 
I  was_established  a  lawless  _po  wer  .*  if  by  that  is  meant 
a  power  not  derived  from  the  British  government. 
A  state  of  war  existed  between  conservatism  and 
radicalism,  and  either  might  be  relied  upon  to  use 
any  weapon;  political,  diplomatic  or  physical,  that 
was  available  and  would  secure  success. 

As  compared  with  the  committee-men  of  the 
French  Revolution,  these  Whig-  committee-men 
were  not  bloody-minded.  Alexander  Graydon, 
who  witnessed  the  persecution  of  the  Loyalists,  re 
lates  the  mild  treatment  of  one  who  shouted  "  God 
save  great  George  our  king,"  and  remarks  that,  if 
"  the  spirit  of  seventy-five  had  in  any  degree  re 
sembled  the  spirit  of  Jacobinism  to  which  it  has 
been  unjustly  compared,  this  bravado  would  un 
questionably  have  brought  the  offender  to  the  lamp 
post  and  set  his  head  upon  a  pike."  2  The  mere 
written  recantation  of  a  Tory  usually  cancelled  the 
offences  of  opinion,  though  refusal  brought  upon 

'Jos.    Galloway,   "A  Candid    Examination,    etc.,"    pp.    I,   2. 

(Tyler,!.,  875.) 

2  "  Library  of  American  Literature,"  Vol.  III.,  461.  (A  quota 
tion  from  Graydon' s  "Memoires.") 


THE  INQUISITION.  67 

the  offender  imprisonment  or  banishment,  but  very 
rarely,  except  in  open  warfare,  the  loss  of  life. 

The^  activity  of  the  committees  soon  drew  upon  t 
them  the  most  virulent  hatred  of  the  Loyalists.  : 
Governor  Tryon,  the  great  military  leader  of  the  ' 
Tories,  wrote  that,  if  he  were  in  authority,  he  would 
burn  every  committee-man's  house  within  his  reach. 
He  deemed  them  "  the  wretched  instruments  of  the 
continued  calamities  "  of  the  country,  and  offered 
twenty  silver  dollars  for  every  acting  committee- 
man  who  should  be  delivered  up  to  the  King's 
troops.1  Nor  was  this  the  only  instance  of  a 
bounty  offered  for  these  "  political  wolves."  A 
reward  of  ten  guineas  was  offered  by  General  Camp 
bell  for  every  committee-man  brought  into  any  of 
the  military  posts.2  Tryon  thought  that  they  would 
soon  be  torn  to  pieces  by  their  own  countrymen 
whom  they  had  forcibly  dragged  to  take  up  arms 
against  their  lawful  sovereign.1  As  soon  as  Howe 
gained  control  of  Long  Island,  Tryon  took  peculiar 
pleasure  in  recommending  "that  all  committees 
meet  as  soon  as  possible  for  the  purpose  of  revok 
ing  all  their  proceedings  under  Congress  and  dis 
solving  their  .unlawful  associations."3  Those  who 
had  been  active  against  the  Tories  were  seized  and 
placed  in  the  prisons  in  New  York.  One  of  them 
was  compelled  to  wear  a  coil  of  rope  about  his 

1  "New  York  Colonial  Documents,"  Vol.  VIII.,  736. 

2  Rimngtort s  Gazette,  February  4,  1779. 

3Onderdonk's  "Revolutionary  Incidents  of  Long  Island,"  Vol. 
II.,  60. 


68  THE  LOYALISTS. 

neck  with  the  comfortable  assurance  that  he  was 

t  to  be  hung  next  day.1 

The  position  of  the  "Tory  committees,"  as  they 

/  came  to  be  known,  was  rarely  enviable.  If  they 
persecuted  vigorously  they  gained  the  bitterest 
hatred  of  the  opposition,  but  if  they  gave  a  sign 
of  leniency  they  were  at  once  denounced  by  the 
Whigs  as  "timorous  and  inactive."2  Sometimes 
they  were  even  accused  of  being  controlled  by  the 
Tories,3  as  they  probably  were  in  the  communities 
where  the  Whigs  were  in  the  minority.  In  New 
York,  and  especially  on  Long  Island,  the  course 
of  a  Whig  committee-man  never  did  run  smoothly. 
At  Jamaica,4  ninety-one  freeholders,  out  of  one  hun 
dred  and.  sixty  in  the  township,  signed  a  declaration 
that  they  never  gave  their  consent  toward  choosing 
the  local  committee  and  utterly  disapproved  of  such 
tyrannical  proceedings.  Had  it  not  been  for  the 
aid  of  the  neighboring  militia,  the  Long  Island  com 
mittees  would  have  found  it  impossible  to  carry  out 
even  the  more  important  orders  of  the  provincial 
and  of  the  Continental  Congress. 

A  discussion  of  the  organization  and  powers  and 
functions  of  the  revolutionary  committees  has  been 

1  Onderdonk's  "Revolutionary  Incidents  of  Long  Island,"  Vol. 
L,  no. 

2  "  Maryland  Records  ;  Journal  of  Committee  of  Safety,"  I775~6, 
P-  347- 

3 Pamphlet,   "Letter  of  J.   Bartlett  to  Wm.  Whipple,  of  New 
Hampshire,  pp.  9,  67. 
4  Long  Island. 


THE   INQUISITION.  69 

necessary,  because  that  political  machinery  acted 
directly  in  the  work  of  controlling  the  Tory  ele 
ment  in  the  community.  The  Continental  Con 
gress  and  the  various  provincial  congresses  issued 
general  orders  and  passed  comprehensive  laws,  but 
the  execution  was  left  to  the  committees,  except  in 
cases  where  armed  opposition  was  to  be  met,  or 
strenuous  measures  were  to  be  executed.  The 
various  associations  were  vigorously  propagated  by 
the  committee  system,  and  that  agency,  more  than 
any  other,  overcame  the  conservative  opposition  to 
independence.  The  story  of  Loyalist  resistance  to 
the  associations  and  to  the  movement  for  indepen 
dence  will  illustrate  the  power  of  the  committees. 

In  October  of  1774,  the  first  Continental  Con 
gress  determined  upon  an  association,  as  a  "  speedy, 
effectual  and  peaceable  measure"  for  obtaining  a 
redress  of  their  grievances.1  The  "Solemn  League 
and  Covenant,"  which  originated  in  Boston,  died  in 
anticipation  of  this  measure  ;  because  intercolonial 
association  would  be  more  effective.  A  sort  of 
commercial  declaration  of  independence  with  a  pu 
nitive  purpose  was  adopted.  At  an  early  date, 
throughout  the  colonies,  the  importation  of  all  Brit 
ish  goods  was  to  cease,  as  was  the  importation  of 
certain  luxuries  from  any  part  of  the  world.  The 
consumption  of  East  India  Company  tea  was  at 
once  forsworn,  and  the  prohibition  of  all  teas  was 
delayed  only  for  a  few  months.  After  the  follow- 

1  "American  Archives,"  4th  ser.,  Vol.  I.,  914,  October  20,  1774. 


70  THE  LOYALISTS. 

ing  September,  if  Parliament  had  not  yielded,  the 
exportation  to  Great  Britain  of  any  commodity 
whatever  was  to  be  prohibited. 

Such  measures  were  sure  to  be  opposed  by  all 
thrifty  merchants  and  traders  who  cared  more  for 
the  solid  advantages  of  trade  than  for  political 
ideals.  Golden,  the  Lieutenant  Governor  of  New 
York,  wrote  that  "  the  Non-Importation  Associa 
tion  affected  the  smugglers  as  well  as  the  fair- 
traders."  The  smugglers  expected  large  quantities 
of  Dutch  tea,  and  insisted  that  it  be  exempt  from 
the  effect  of  the  Association.1  A  powerful  Tory 
writer,  who  signed  himself  the  "  Westchester 
Farmer,"  called  non-importation  and  non-exporta 
tion  a  "vile, shameful,  diabolical  device,"  and  demon 
strated  in  a  blunt,  straightforward  way  that  the 
farmers  must  go  to  the  dogs,  while  the  "  proud  mer 
chants  .  .  .  riot  in  their  ill-gotten  gains."  He 
pointed  out  that  the  distress  would  fall  upon  the 
American  farmer  long  before  it  would  fall  upon  the 
people  of  Great  Britain.  He  asked  pertinently, 
"  why  revenge  ourselves  upon  them  ?  They  have 
done  us  no  injury."  Then,  to  illustrate  how  dis 
proportionate  the  end  to  be  gained  was  to  the  means 
taken  to  attain  it,  he  demonstrated  by  ingenious 
calculation  that  "  in  order  to  pay  this  monstrous 
duty  on  tea  which  has  raised  all  this  confounded 
combustion  in  the  country,  (one  has)  only  to  sell 

1  "New  York  Historical  Society,"  1877,  p.  373. 


THE   INQUISITION.  71 

the  produce  of  a  bushel  of  flaxseed  once  in  thirty- 
three  years.1 

But  there  were  other  displeasing  features  in  the 
"  Association."  It  continued  in  a  puritanical  strain 
to  discountenance  horse-racing,  gaming  and  plays, 
and  "  other  expensive  diversions  and  entertain 
ments."  None  were  to  go  into  mourning-dress 
other  than  black  crape  or  ribbon  on  the  arm  or  hat 
of  the  gentleman,  or  a  black  ribbon  and  lace  for 
ladies.2  By  this  restriction  the  religion  of  some 
and  the  sentiments  of  many  were  antagonized. 
Finally,  the  venders  of  goods  were  to  take  no  ad 
vantage  of  the  scarcity  of  the  forbidden  articles  but 
were  to  sell  at  the  same  rates  as  had  prevailed  dur 
ing  the  past  year.  Here  again  the  pocket  of  the 
merchant  was  touched.  A  false  value  was  given  to 
commodities,  since  their  price  was  no  longer  regu 
lated  by  economic  law.  A  satisfied  political  senti 
ment  was  to  be  a  part  of  the  compensation  that  a 
merchant  received  for  his  goods. 

The  association  was  not  to  depend  for  suc 
cess  upon  its  own  merits,  but,  in  every  county, 
city  and  town,  a  committee  was  to  be  chosen,  whose 
business  should  be  to  observe  the  conduct  of  all 
persons  touching  the  association.  If  a  majority  of 
the  committee  should  be  convinced  that  an  individ 
ual  had  violated  the  association,  that  person's  name 
should  be  published  in  the  Gazettes.  The  associa- 

1  Quoted  by  Tyler,  "  Literary  History  of  the  American  Revolu 
tion,"  Vol.  I.,  336-342. 

2 "American  Archives,"  4th  ser.,  Vol.  I.,  915. 


72  THE   LOYALISTS. 

tors  would  break  off  all  dealings  with  any  person 
or  colony  that  should  violate  or  refuse  to  accede  to 
the  Association.  To  make  sure  that  all  should 
have  a  chance  to  sign  it,  several  thousand  copies  of 
these  and  other  resolves  were  printed  and  distributed 
over  the  colonies.1  Many  people  had  them  ele 
gantly  printed,  framed  and  glazed,  hoping  to  per 
petuate  the  resolves  to  their  latest  posterity.2 

North  and  south,  the  resolutions  were  taken  up 
and  acted  upon  with  zeal.  The  committees  were 
organized,  the  association  propagated,  and  its  every 
resolve  punctiliously  enforced.  Inspectors  were 
chosen  who  were  to  watch  those  who  should  buy 
at  the  stores  of  non-associators.  The  moral  re 
forms  called  for  by  the  association  were  carried  out 
as  rigorously  as  the  economic.  Even  the  horse 
races  were  stopped  on  the  ground  that  "  he  only  is 
a  determined  patriot  who  willingly  sacrifices  his 
pleasures  upon  the  altar  of  freedom."  3  No  tavern 
keeper  could  suffer  balls  or  dances  in  his  house  if 
he  wished  to  avoid  the  censure  of  the  committees.4 
Recalcitrant  persons  were  called  before  the  commit 
tees,  and,  failing  to  explain  their  misconduct,  were 
declared  subjects  of  a  universal  boycott.  Those 
who  refused  to  sign  were  subjected  to  signal  marks 
of  contempt.5  Yet,  it  was  the  avowed  Tory  who 

1  "American  Archives,"  4th  series,  Vol.  I.,  969. 


North  Carolina  Colonial  Records,"  Vol.  IX.,  1091. 

/^Y/.,  Vol.  IX.,  1118. 

New  York  Colonial  Records,"  Vol.  IX.,  1102,  1152. 


THE   INQUISITION.  73 

was  especially  attacked,  for,  after  signing  the  As 
sociation,  those  whose  political  tents  were  indubit 
ably  Whig  were  rarely  interfered  with  by  commit 
tees.  The  Tory  complained  that  merchants  might 
advance  prices  with  impunity,  if  only  they  were 
known  to  favor  the  revolutionary  movement.1  The 
effect  of  these  coercive  measures  upon  those  who 
were  opposed  to  the  revolutionary  principles  was  to 
make  them  feel  that  they  were  martyrs  to  a  cause, 
and  thus  intensify  the  spirit  of  opposition. 

Timothy  Ruggles,  who  is  described  as  a  scholar, 
a  wit  and  a  misanthrope,2  and  whose  political  sym 
pathies  never  were  in  doubt,  at  once  proposed  a 
counter  association.  The  signers  were  to  defend 
each  other's  life,  liberty  and  property,  and  to  sup 
port  one  another  in  the  right  to  eat,  drink,  buy, 
sell,  commune  and  act,  what,  with  whom,  and  as 
they  pleased,  consistent  with  the  laws  of  God  and 
of  the  King.  They  refused  to  submit  to  the  au 
thority  of  Congress  or  committees  or  other  uncon 
stitutional  assemblies  of  men.  They  would  encour 
age  and,  if  necessary,  enforce  obedience  to  the  King. 
If  all  other  means  of  security  failed,  they  would 
have  recourse  to  the  natural  law  of  retaliation.3  It 
is  to  be  remembered  that  Ruggles  was  a  Manda 
mus  Councillor,  and  had  recently  been  driven  from 
his  home  into  Boston. 

1  "  American  Archives,"  Vol.  II.,  239. 

2Sabine,  "American  Loyalists,"  p.  586. 

3  "Journals  of  each  Provincial  Congress  of  Massachusetts,"  p.  68. 


74  THE  LOYALISTS. 

As  soon  as  the  Tory  Association  became  known, 
the  Provincial  Congress  ordered  the  colonial  com 
mittees  to  be  on  the  lookout  for  such  combinations, 
and,  if  any  should  be  enticed  to  join,  their  names 
were  to  be  published  to  the  world,  their  persons 
treated  with  neglect  and  their  memories  transmitted 
to  posterity  with  ignominy.1 

f     Association,  as  a  means  of  ascertaining  political  I' 
(strength,  was  from   this  time  employed   alike    byl 
(Loyalist  and  Patriot.     But  the  greater  zeal,  or  pre-1 
'ponderance  in  mere  numbers,  or,  whatever  influence 
soon  put  all  governmental  power  in  the  hands  of 
the  Patriots,  gave  to  them  also  the  mastery  of  the 
associating   activity.     A   Patriot   might  sign  an  as 
sociation  before  all  the  world.     A  Loyalist  found 
it  to  his  interest  to  sign  in  secret. 

Ruggles'  association  became  the  model  of  similar 
associations  formed  elsewhere.  Col.  Thomas  Gil 
bert,  at  the  suggestion  of  General  Gage,  organized 
a  band  of  three  hundred  Loyalists  in  Massachusetts  ; 
whereupon,  the  Whig  assembly  denounced  him  as 
"  an  inveterate  enemy  to  his  country,  to  reason,  to 
justice  and  the  common  rights  of  mankind,"  and 
Gilbert's  "  banditti  "  were  to  be  "cut  off  from  the 
benefit  of  commerce  with,  or  countenance  of,  any 
friend  of  virtue,  America,  or  the  human  race."2 
Wherever  the  Loyalists  attempted  to  organize,  they 
were  set  upon  with  the  same  verbal  fury,  and  the 

1  "  Journals  of  each  Provincial  Congress  of  Massachusetts,"  p.  6.9. 
2Sabine,  "  Loyalists,"  p.  322. 


I 

THE  INQUISITION,  75 

individual  members  exposed  to  the  uncurbed  rage 
of  the  mob. 

In  some  parts  of  America,  however,  the  numbers 
of  the  Loyalists  gave  them  license.  In  Ulster 
County,  New  York,  they  defiantly  erected  the 
royal  standard  upon  a  mast  seventy-five  feet  high. 
Inscribed  upon  it  were  sentiments  testifying  their 
unshaken  loyalty  and  incorruptible  fidelity  to  the 
best  of  kings.  They  emblazoned  their  attachment 
to  the  parent  state  and  the  British  constitution. 
They  abhorred  the  republican  government,  and 
"  detested  treasonable  associations,  seditious  meet 
ings  and  execrable  mobs."  At  the  hazard  of  their 
lives,  they  volunteered  to"  maintain  the  just  rights 
and  constitutional  liberties  of  free-born  Englishmen, 
and  to  defend  that  "most  excellent  sovereign, 
George  the  Third." l  In  various  loyal  centers, 
from  one  end  of  America  to  the  other,  this  cour 
age  and  confidence  in  the  strength  of  loyalty  could 
be  found.  When  Georgia's  Sons  of  Liberty  called 
for  a  meeting  of  deputies  to  accede  to  the  Conti 
nental  Association,  five  hundred  men  from  three 
parishes  protested.  They  dissented  to  any  pro 
ceedings  tending  to  express  disloyalty  to  their 
"  most  gracious  sovereign."  4 

Besides  the  ^Continental  Association,!  whose  chief 
object  was  retaliation  by  commercial  restriction, 
there  began,  early  in  1775,  the  organization,  in  the 

1  Sabine,  "American  Loyalists,"  p.  331. 
*  Rivingtori  s  Gazette,  December  29,  1774. 


I 


76  THE   LOYALISTS, 

\  several  colonies,  of  associations  of  men  pledged  to 
promote  opposition  by  arms  to  England's  aggres 
sion.1  In  these  associations  the  spirit  of  war  ap- 
:  pears  for  the  first  time.  Their  object  was  quite 
distinct  from  the  associations  whose  object  was 
commercial,  but  peaceful,  retaliation.  The  people 
now  bound  themselves  to  defend  their  rights  with 
their  blood  and  treasure.  The  papers,  on  which 
men  now  placed  themselves  on  record,  were  practi 
cally  militia-rolls — promises  to  serve  in  a  war  for 
their  liberties.  These  associations,  too,  were  propa 
gated  by  committees  who  presented  the  document 
for  signature  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  or 
district,  and  rendered  an  account  of  all  who  declined 
to  sign.2  Indifference  and  neutrality  were  no  longer 
tenable  positions. 

The  Continental  Congress  early  gave  its  approval 
to  this  action  of  the  committees.  It  saw  clearly 
that  democracy  must  fight  its  battles,  and  that  the 
people's  aid  must  be  actively  solicited.  June  26, 
1775,  the  state  of  North  Carolina  was  taken  into 
consideration,  and  Congress  resolved  that,  since 
the  enemies  of  the  liberties  of  America  are  pursu 
ing  measures  to  divide  the  good  people  of  the 
colony  of  North  Carolina  and  to  defeat  the  Ameri 
can  Association,  ...  it  be  recommended  to  all 
in  that  colony,  who  wish  well -.to  the  liberties  of 

1  A  good  example  of  the  type  may  be  found  in  the  "  Archives  of 
Maryland,"  Vol.  XL,  66. 

2  "The  Remembrancer,"  Vol.  II.,  part  I.,  15. 


THE  INQUISITION.  77 

America,  to  associate  for  the  defense  of  American 
liberty."  There  was,  at  this  time,  more  respect  for 
Congress  than  at  a  later  period,  and  the  recom 
mendation  increased  the  proselyting  zeal. 

The  drawing  up  of  this  defensive  association  was 
usually  the  work  of  a  committee.  Well-worded 
and  effective  documents  were  often  adopted  by  all 
the  committees  in  a  county  or  section,  though  in 
different  colonies  they  varied  in  expression  as  widely 
as  the  minds  of  men  vary.  The  general  tenor, 
however,  was  that  the  subscribers,  inhabitants  of 
such  a  county  or  town,  feeling  themselves  bound 
by  the  most  sacred  of  all  obligations,  the  duty  of 
good  citizenship  toward  an  injured  country,  asso 
ciated  as  a  band  in  her  defence  against  every  foe. 
They  invoked  the  ties  of  religion  and  honor  to  hold 
them  faithful.  The  measures  of  Congress  and  their 
provincial  assemblies  should  be  executed.  They 
saw  the  dangers  of  anarchy  in  the  dissolution  of  the 
powers  of  government,  and  they  gave  to  their  com 
mittees  the  preservation  of  peace  and  good  order. 
The  obligation  of  their  bond  held  until  there  should 
be  a  full  reconciliation.  The  document  closed  with 
the  bald  statement  of  their  political  intolerance : 
"  We  will  hold  all  those  persons  inimical  to  the 
liberties  of  the  colonies  who  shall  refuse  to  sub 
scribe  this  association."  It  was  the  proclamation 
of  a  civil  war. 

The  defensive  association  was  no  passive  instru 
ment  to  be  laid  upon  a  table,  where  he  who  pleased 


7  THE  LOYALISTS. 

might  sign.  Like  the  Koran,  it  was  to  be  propa 
gated  with  the  sword.  The  letters  and  records  of 
the  time  contain  many  tales  of  the  aggressive 
methods  of  committee-men.  "  Being  duly  sworn 
upon  the  Holy  Evangelists  of  Almighty  God,"  as 
the  quaint  phrase  ran,  the  indignant  victims  of  party 
rage  told  the  British  officers  their  grievances. 

The  ordinary  experience  will  better  serve  the  pur 
pose  of  conservative  illustration  than  the  more 
extreme  cases.  Three  men  took  a  North  Carolina 
planter  into  custody  and  carried  him  by  force 
"  before  several  persons  who  called  themselves  com 
mittee-men."  He  was  confined  two  days  and  two 
nights.  They  read  over  several  papers,  and  en 
deavored  to  persuade  him  to  join  with  them.  He 
did  not  concur  with  their  measures,  and  refused  to 
answer  their  questions.  He  was  discharged,  and  on 
his  way  home  stopped  at  a  house  to  sleep.  After 
dark,  five  unknown  men  seized  him,  and  in  a  violent 
manner  carried  him  into  the  woods.  They  said 
that  they  intended  to  treat  him  as  an  enemy  to  the 
country,  and  ordered  him  to  strip.  He  removed 
his  coat,  and  they  began  to  tie  him.  After  much 
threatening,  however,  he  was  released.  But,  go 
where  he  would,  there  was  no  peace,  for  every  man's 
hand  was  against  him.  One  taunted  him  that  Lord 
North  was  a  Catholic,  and  another  informed  him 
that  the  king's  crown  tottered  upon  his  shoulders. 
In  desperation  he  fled  for  refuge  to  the  governor's 
ship  in  Charleston  harbor. 


THE  INQUISITION.  79 

Insult  and  threat  met  a  non-associator  at  every 
turn.  One  day  he  was,  perhaps,  set  upon  a  cake  of 
ice  to  cool  his  loyalty,1  and  then  was  informed  that 
a  certain  famous  liberty-man  had  sworn  to  be  his 
butcher.  Next  he  was  told  that  he  might  expect 
a  "  san  benito  "  of  tar  and  feathers,  and  even  an 
"Auto  Da  Fe."  The  committees  sent  Patriot 
newspapers  and  other  propaganda  to  the  wavering 
or  obstinate,  but  seldom  failed  to  follow  this  sys 
tem  of  conversion  with  a  personal  interview  if  the 
literature  failed.  When  the  political  sentiment  of  a 
whole  community  was  in  doubt,  special  committees, 
or  in  some  cases  clergymen  of  Whig  views,  were 
appointed  to  confer  with  the  inhabitants  upon  the 
subject  of  American  freedom. 

Committee  control  of  the  Tory  opposition  was 
only  possible  where  the  dominant  party  was  Whig. 
More  drastic  measures  were  taken  where  a  loyal 
city  or  community  was  to  be  coerced.  Governor 
Martin,  from  his  safe  retreat  in  Fort  Johnson,  North 
Carolina,  wrote  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth  that  at 
Wilmington  "  there  was  a  noble  and  honest  dor 
mant  spirit  nurtured  "  among  the  Scotch  merchants, 
but  a  certain  Colonel  Ashe  appeared  there  at  the 
head  of  a  body  of  between  four  and  five  hundrep! 
men,  menacing  the  people  with  military  execution 
if  they  did  not  immediately  subscribe  an  association 
dictated  by  the  committee.  When  this  bumptious 
Colonel  was  asked  his  authority  for  such  arbitrary 

i Moore's  "Diary,"  Vol.  I.,  359. 


8o  THE   LOYALISTS. 

proceedings,  he  only  pointed  to  the  men  he  had 
assembled.  "  They  were  obliged  to  sign,"  the 
Governor  added  bitterly,  "  what  their  consciences 
revolted  at  and  abhorred." 

Governor  Martin  had  issued  an  impotent  procla 
mation  against  these  "  sundry  ill-disposed  persons  " 
who  industriously  propagated  "  false,  seditious  and 
scandalous  reports"  derogatory  to  the  king  and 
court.  Upon  the  pretense  of  apprehensions  of  in 
testine  insurrection,  he  asserted,  they  got  the  people 
to  subscribe  papers  promising  to  form  armed  com 
panies  and  submit  to  committees.  The  "  incen 
diaries  "  resorted  to  the  deceit  and  artifice  of  urging 
the  people  to  support  his  Majesty  against  the  evil 
designs  of  Parliament.  They  threatened  unwilling 
individuals  with  tarring  and  feathering,  and  menaced 
even  with  death.  Their  "  deluded  followers  "  were 
promised  the  lands  and  properties  of  the  recalci 
trants.1  People  were  obliged,  the  governor  said,  to 
frequent  meetings  in  arms,  by  the  usurped  authority 
of  committees.  To  all  this  his  obedient  Tory  coun 
cil  said  amen,  and  testified  that  the  governor  had 
done  all  in  his  power  to  preserve  order.2 

In  reply  to  the  governor,  the  Whig  committee  at 
Wilmington  denied  that  force  had  been  used  to  pro 
pagate  the  association,  and  denounced  the  governor 
as  an  enemy  to  the  happiness  of  the  colony  and  the 

1  "Colonial  Records  of  North  Carolina,"  Vol.  X.,  16,  17. 
*J6ief.,  Vol. -X.,  38. 


THE   INQUISITION.  8 1 

freedom  of  America.1  Whether  the  committee  in 
tended  that  force  should  be  used  we  can  not  know, 
but  it  is  sure  that  something  very  akin  to  it  ensured 
the  success  of  the  association.  Nor  were  the  arts 
of  the  demagogue  wanting  to  the  committee-men, 
for  their  rhetoric  left  an  impression  upon  the  minds 
of  the  people  that  the  British  ministers  were  "  like 
so  many  master-devils  in  the  infernal  regions,  send 
ing  out  their  servant  furies  to  torment  wherever 
.  .  .  their  infernal  vengeance  should  fall."  2 

The  very  desperation  of  the  Whig  cause  made  it 
successful.  If  they  were  to  do  anything,  they  must 
organize,  and  be  on  the  alert,  as  they  were,  even  to 
carrying  arms  to  meeting  on  the  Sabbath.3  The 
Tories  were  too  prone  to  wait  the  chastening  hand 
of  Great  Britain.  Where  they  could  overcome  their 
fatal  tendency  to  rely  upon  the  British  government, 
however,  they^formed  associations  of  their  own  or 
protested  against  the  Whig  combinations.  The 
extant  records  of  the  Whig  committees  show  that 
they  often  seized  the  Tory  leaders  and  investigated 
their  proceedings. 

A  North  Carolina  Tory  leader  encouraged  his 
friends  with  the  assurance  that  fifty  thousand  Rus 
sians  had  been  hired  by  the  King  to  subdue  Amer 
ica.  To  aid  these  hypothetical  myrmidons  he  tried 
to  organize  a  company  of  militia.  He  was  seized  by 

1  "  Colonial  Records  of  North  Carolina,"  Vol.  X.,  June  20,  1775. 

*Ibid.,  Vol.  X.,  123. 

3  "American  Archives,"  series  4,  Vol.  II.,  1419. 

7 


82  THE   LOYALISTS. 

the  nearest  committee,  and,  after  examination,  was 
censured  as  a  seditious  incendiary  who  was  as  des 
titute  of  property  and  influence  as  he  was  of  prin 
ciple.  The  friends  of  liberty  were  to  avoid  all 
intercourse  with  him,  because  he  had  traitorously 
endeavored  to  make  himself  conspicuous  in  favor  of 
tyranny  and  oppression.1 

Similar  abortive  attempts  are  recorded  in  the 
journals  of  other  colonial  committees.  The  Mary 
land  Council  of  Safety  displayed  little  activity  in 
controlling  Tory  sentiment  during  the  first  year  of 
the  struggle ;  but,  in  November  of  1775,  when  the 
Maryland  Loyalists  attempted  to  associate  and  give 
aid  to  Lord  Dunmore,  who  was  making  every  en 
deavor  to  save  Virginia  for  the  King,  they  were 
aroused  to  an  active  investigation  of  the  attempted 
organization. 

An  examination  of  the  state  of  affairs  in  that 
province  reveals  the  fact  that  they  began  none  too 
soon  their  tardy  preventative  measures.  Hugh 
Kelly,  of  Maryland,  testified  and  produced  proof, 
before  the  British  Commission  for  inquiring  into 
the  Loyalists'  claims,  that  he  had  associated  one 
thousand  nine  hundred  men  capable  of  bearing 
arms.  He  said  that,  "  in  1775,  when  the  Rebels 
were  associating,"  he  instituted  a  secret  mode  of 
organizing  the  friends  of  the  British  government. 
He  "  circulated  writings  to  be  signed  by  the  people." 

1  "  Records  of  North  Carolina,"  Vol.  X.,  July  7,  1775.  Proceed 
ings  of  the  Committee  at  Wilmington. 


THE  INQUISITION.  83 

But  the  necessity  of  doing  all  this  in  the  dark,  the 
fear  of  the  established  power,  and  the  vigor  of  the 
Whig  persecution  rendered  these  efforts  ineffectual. 
In  the  biting  satire  of  a  parodist,  "  thus  dread  of 
want  makes  rebels  of  us  all ;  and  thus  the  native 
hue  of  Loyalty  is  sicklied  over  with  a  pale  cast  of 
trimming'' 

The  depositions  of  the  witnesses  examined  by 
the  Maryland  Council  reveal  the  secret  methods  of 
association  to  which  the  Loyalists  were  obliged  to 
resort.1  The  leader  visited  the  man-of-war,  whither 
Lord  Dunmore  had  betaken  himself,  and  arranged  for 
some  powder  and  shot  to  be  sent  ashore  and  divided 
among  certain  faithful  Tories  who  were  to  be  as 
sembled.  He  then  returned  home  and  quietly 
called  upon  those  friends  of  the  King  in  whom  he 
could  trust.  They  were  called  from  their  houses  by 
a  silent  beck  or  a  significant  touch  on  the  arm,  and, 
while  walking  in  the  recesses  of  the  forest,  the  plot 
was  unfolded.  Imprecations  were  heaped  upon  the 
members  of  Congress,  and  the  opinion  passed  that 
there  would  be  no  peace  until  their  heads  were  off. 
If  the  friend  joined  heartily  in  these  sentiments,  he 
was  at  once  admitted  to  full  confidence.  A  paper 
was  signed  and  an  oath  of  secrecy  administered. 
The  signers  were  soon  called  to  meet  for  instruction 
in  military  exercise.  Here  the  association  was  read 

»"  Maryland  Archives,"  Vol.  XII.,  369-383. 


84  THE   LOYALISTS. 

in  the  presence  of  all,  when,  as  the  story  runs,  they 
pulled  off  their  hats  and  hurrahed  for  the  king. 
One  who  said  amen  and  hurrahed,  but  neglected  to 
pull  off  his  hat,  was  suspected  as  a  spy.  He  was 
threatened  with  a  broadaxe,  and  was  warned  that  he 
would  be  brained  if  he  signed  the  Continental  as 
sociation.  Some  seventy  subscribers  agreed  not  to 
go  to  Boston  nor  to  let  others  go,  and,  if  summoned 
by  the  committee,  would  aid  each  other  in  resisting 
the  summons.  Fifty  armed  men  were  selected  to 
guard  the  home  of  the  leader  against  the  committee. 
When  the  summons  came,  he  refused  to  obey. 

But  this  Tory  opposition  was  not  merely  nega 
tive,  for  this  band  had  a  plan  to  capture  the  mem 
bers  of  the  Worcester  County  Committee  while 
asleep  in  their  beds,  and  hurry  them  away  to  Lord 
Dunmore.  This  plot  failed,  but  some  doubtful 
Whigs  were  allured  from  home  in  quest  of  salt,  and 
then  seized,  placed  upon  a  tender  under  the  hatches, 
and  taken  on  board  the  man-of-war.  They  were 
there  urged  to  enlist  under  Lord  Dunmore,  and 
promised  a  guinea  and  a  crown  in  addition  to  their 
pay.1  This  offer  failed  in  most  cases  to  attract 
them.  The  whole  enterprise  failed,  in  fact,  and  the 
leader  was  seized  and  brought  to  trial. 

The  loyal  associations  did  not  always  meet  an 
nihilation  at  the  comparatively  gentle  hands  of  the 
civil  authorities.  Their  fate  was  often  that  of  a 
Sussex,  N.  J.,  association,  whose  destruction  was 

*"  Archives  of  Maryland,"  Vol.  XII.,  369-383. 


THE   INQUISITION.  85 

reported   in   "  Holt's   Journal."      "This    morning 
about  four  hundred  of  the  militia  assembled  at  New 
ton,  and  from  thence  proceeded  in    good  order  and 
regularity,  in  quest  of  Tories,  a  considerable  num 
ber  of  whom  had  entered  into  a  combination  and 
agreement    not    to    comply    with    any    Congress 
measures.     We  hear  about  forty  are  take.-  most 
of  whom  have  recanted,  signed  the  association  and 
profess  themselves  true  sons  of  Jberty,  being  fully 
convinced  of  their  error." 

In  this  way,  all  the  jarly  attempts  of  the  Loyal - 
lists,  not  supported  by  the  British  army,  came  to 
naught,  either  from  lack  of  intercolonial  organiza 
tion,  or  on  account  of  a  fatal  delay,  which  gave  the 
(Whigs  s^ength  to  overcome  the  tardy  efforts.     In 
some  .tf  the  colonies,  indeed,   not  even   an  effort 
seems  to  have  been  made  to  organize  the  conserva- 

tive  f,rces.  ^^nJ^^^^^^" 
who  vas  acquSnEecT wiftitne  situation  in  Tennsyl- 
vania  if  any  one  was,  testified  during  his  examina 
tion  before  the  House  of  Commons  that  he  never 
heard  of  associations  to  oppose  the  Whigs  in  any 
part  Of  Pennsylvania.1  This  statement,  added  to 
the  fact  that  Pennsylvania  was  one  of  the  states 
that  containedlhe  largest  number  ot  Loyalists, 
goes  to" show  that  the  lory  party  lacked^  vigorous^  | 
leaders,  jmd  that  \\\^v^^^£^^I^^J^^^^\ 
Sourage  of  their  convictions.  Under  the  fosteringj 

1  Galloway's  "Examination,"   Rivingtori's   Gazette,   November 
16,  1779- 


86 


THE  LOYALISTS. 


care  of  the  British  army  of  occupation  they  organ 
ized  a  formidable  association  at  Boston,  and  later, 
under  similar  circumstances,  we  shall  find  active 
loyal  organizations  at  Newport,  Philadelphia  and 
New  York  City. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

THE    DOWNFALL   OF   THE    OLD    FAITH. 

THE  policy  of  the  Tories,  if  they  may  be  said 
to  have  had  any  policy,  seems  always  to  have 
been  a  negative  one.  Instead  of  taking  part  in  the 
colonial  politics,  they  withdrew,  in  many  cases,  and 
looked  frowningly  on  while  rebellion  advanced  by 
leaps  and  bounds.  The  more  influential  disdained 
to  enter  into  controversy  with  the  "  noisy,  bluster 
ing  and  bellowing  patriots."  l  By  such  conduct 
they  failed,except  in  one  or  two  colonies,  to  make 
thjdl_in^£nce  felt  against  the  assembling  of  dele- 
gates  to  the  Continental  Congress.  The  arch-Tory 
of  them  all,  Galloway,  who  spoke  the  truth  when 
he  knew  it,  or  when  it  was  not  obscured  from  him 
by  passion,  testified  upon  oath,  tJiatjnJhe  election 
nf.  Hplpgarpg  ypry  sm^y^ro£ortion.s  of  the  people 
turned  out  to  _yote.  Only  the  more  violent,  he 
asserted,  took  part  in  the  elections  which  deter 
mined  the  appointment  of  the  delegates.  "  In  one 
place  two  men  met,  and  one  appointed  the  other, 
delegate  to  Congress."  In  many  districts  a  decimal 
part  and  in  some  not  an  hundredth  part  of  the 

1  "American  Archives,"  series  4,  Vol.  II.,  240. 
87 


88  THE   LOYALISTS. 

voters  was  present.1  Governor  Martin,  of  North 
Carolina,  wrote  Dartmouth  that  ten  of  the  thirty- 
four  counties 2  of  that  state  sent  no  representatives 
to  the  convention  called  for  the  purpose  of  appoint 
ing  delegates  to  the  second  Continental  Congress. 
In  some  of  the  represented  districts,  committees  of 
ten  or  twelve  men  took  it  upon  themselves  to  name 
the  representatives.  In  others  they  were  not 
chosen  by  a  twentieth  part  of  the  people,  "  notwith 
standing  every  act  of  persuasion  was  employed  by 
the  demagogues  upon  the  occasion."  In  Georgia, 
the  Loyalist  influence  was  so  strong  that  only  five 
out  of  twelve  parishes  sent  deputies  to  a  provincial 
congress,  which  met  for  the  purpose  of  appointing 
delegates  to  the  Continental  Congress.  Notwith 
standing  the  fact  that  they  represented  a  minority 
in  the  province,  they  elected  delegates  who,  from 
fear  or  modesty,  refused  to  serve,  and  sent  a  letter 
of  explanation  to  Congress.3  Likewise,  in  New 
York,  the  Loyalists  were  more  active,  and,  in  some 
districts  upon  Long  Island,  the  records  show  heavy 
majorities  against  sending  representatives  to  a  pro 
vincial  congress  which  was  to  appoint  the  delegates 
to  the  Continental  Congress.4  In  spite  of  majorities 

^ Rivington1  s  Gazette,  November  6,  1778,  Report  of  Galloway's 
"  Examination." 

2  "  Records  of  North  Carolina,"  Vol.  IX.,  1042.     (The  records 
of  the  convention  show  that  eight  of  the  forty-four  districts  failed  to 
send  delegates.) 

3  "  American  Archives,"   series  4,   Vol.   II.,    279.      (Only  the 
parish  of  St.  John  was  represented  finally. ) 

4  "  Revolutionary  Incidents  of  Long  Island,"  Onderdonk,  pp.  16, 
22-28,  39,  40- 


DOWNFALL    OF  THE    OLD  FAITH.  89 

against  the  measure,  delegates  were  sent  by  small 
bodies  of  patriots  who  relied  upon  outside  support.1 
Lieutenant  Governor  Golden  asserted  that  in 
Queens  County  not  six  persons  had  met  for  the  pur 
pose  of  choosing  delegates  for  Congress.2  In  New 
York  city,  a  desperate  attempt  was  made  to  arouse 
the  conservative  forces  against  the  new  Congress. 
"  A  Citizen  "  exhorted  all  friends  of  government  to 
let  neither  indolence  nor  any  other  consideration 
deter  them  from  stopping  the  mischief  that  was 
coming  swiftly  upon  them.  They  were  urged  not 
to  suffer  "  this  maddest  freak  of  rampant  repub 
licanism  to  take  place  —  the  appointment  of  a  Pro 
vincial  Congress."  "  Crush  this  accursed  cockatrice 
whilst  it  is  in  embryo,"  he  cried,  "if  you  permit  it 
to  grow  up  to  maturity  it  will  sting  you  to  death."  3 
Neither  the  commercial  interests  of  New  York, 
which  gave  the  Loyalists  strength,  nor  the  unusual 
efforts  against  the  Whig  policy  prevented  the  pro 
vincial  congress  or  the  appointing  of  delegates  to 
the  Continental  Congress.  The  New  York  mem 
bers,  however,  felt  the  restraint  which  minority 
representatives  cannot  evade. 

In  failing  to  prevent  the  Continental  Congress 
the  Tories  had  lost  their  last  political  opportunity 
When  Democracy  and  Union  had  once  created  a 
regulating  body  like  Congress,  they  were  sure  to  be 
led  far  afield  by  their  creation.  The  audacity  of  the 

1  "  Revolutionary  Incidents  of  Long  Island,"  Onderdonk,  p.  26. 

*Ibid.,  Onderdonk,  p.  1 6. 

3  "American  Archives,"  series  4,  Vol.  II.,  46. 


90  THE   LOYALISTS. 

second  Continental  Congress  will  ever  be  a  matter 
)f  wonder.  Without  unity  in  instruction,  with  no 
Dower  to  form  a  government,  without  jurisdiction 
over  an  acre  of  territory,  with  no  authority  to  ad 
minister  government  in  an  acre  if  they  had  it,  with 
no  money,  no  laws  and  no  means  to  execute  them, 
ithey  entered  upon  the  task  of  regulating  a  society  in 
I  the  state  of  revolution.  Had  the  Congress  declared 
to  the  colonists,  wrote  a  Tory,  "  that  they  were  the 
children  of  the  sun,  sent  by  their  beneficent  parent 
to  instruct  and  reclaim  them,"  as  Manco  Capac  and 
Mama  Ocollo  declared  to  the  Peruvians,  they  would 
have  claimed  nothing  fabulous  in  the  minds  of  the 
Whigs.1  The  patriots  thought  every  man  in  a 
"  state  of  reprobation  beyond  the  power  of  heavenly 
mercy  to  forgive,  who  was  not  willing  to  meet  death 
rather  than  concede  a  tittle  of  the  Congress'  Creed." 2 
There  was  something  more  than  jingle  in  the  song 
of  the  Jamaica  minute  men, 

"  We  have  some  noble  Congressmen 
Elected  for  our  nurses, 
And  every  jolly  farmer  will 
Assist  'em  with  their  purses."  3 

The  elected  Congress,  which  by  mere  virtue  of 
[existence  was  enabled  to  direct  a  rebellion  against 
[British  authority,  became  the  head  and  front  of  the 

1  Rivingtori* s  Gazette,  June  30,  1779. 

2  "  North  Carolina  Colonial  Records,"  IX.,  1280.    (Wm.  Hooper, 
a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress,  to  Samuel  Johnson. ) 

8  "  Revolutionary  Incidents  of  Long  Island,"  Onderdonk,  p.  37. 


DOWNFALL    OF   THE    OLD   FAITH.  91 

Whig  offense.  Nothing  was  left  to  the  Tories  but 
impotent  vilification  and  denunciation.  Every  Con 
gressman  was  a  "lean  and  grinning  Cassius  "  and 
an  "  independent  incendiary."  The  "  Westchester 
Farmer  "  described  Congress  as  a  law-making  body 
unknown  to  the  law  or  to  the  constitution  of  the 
country ;  its  members  had  no  real  claim  to  repre 
sent  the  government  or  the  people  of  their  several 
provinces  ;  in  many  cases  their  election  was  a  sham, 
in  all  cases  invalid  ;  the  doctrines  they  had  put 
forth  were  unsound,  misleading,  dangerous,  from 
beginning  to  end  ;  the  measures  they  had  undertaken 
to  force  upon  the  people  were  without  authority, 
were  tyrannical  and  would  bring  on  unspeakable 
calamity.2  The  Tories  liked  to  think  that  this  bale 
ful  conduct  of  Congress  was  due  to  its  irresponsi 
bility,  and  that  it  consisted  of  obscure,  pettifogging 
attorneys,  bankrupt  shop-keepers  and  outlawed 
smugglers.3  Political  significance  was  given  to  the! 
scriptural  promise  that  the  lowly  shall  be  exalted.! 
The  mushroom  growth  of  political  fortunes  was 
thus  satirized  by  a  rhyming  Loyalist : 

"  Down  at  night  a  bricklayer  or  carpenter  lies, 
Next  sun  a  Lycurgus,  a  Solon  doth  rise."  4 

;  *«  American  Archives,"  series  4,  Vol.  II.,  240. 
2  Quoted  by  Tyler,  "  Literary  History  of  American  Revolution," 
I.,  343- 

*Rivington's  Gazette,  May  23,  1778. 
*  Moore's  "Diary,"  II.,  22. 


9 2  THE  LOYALISTS. 

This  sudden  appearance  of  democracy  as  the  dom 
inant  class  gave  the  Tory  aristocrats  a  political 
shock  which  went  on  vibrating  through  all  the 
loyal  literature  of  the  time. 

Success  in  the  organization  of  the  committees  and 
the  associations  and  two  successive  congresses  had 
given  the  revolutionary  party  courage  for  the  final 
measure,  a  formal  declaration  of  their  independence. 
Mere  political  momentum  tended  to  bring  about  a 
successful  issue.  The  opposition  would,  it  is  true, 
gain  some  adherents  from  the  timid  ones,  who 
feared  that  they  had  gone  too  far ;  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  idea  of  independence  flattered  the  people, 
as  the  great  Tory  pamphleteer  confessed,  while  the 
Tory  plan  supposed  a  degree  of  subordination  which 
was  rather  a  humiliating  idea.1  The  existing  un 
settled  condition  was  feared  even  by  the  most  ar 
dent  Whigs.  Every  measure  for  opposing  the 
Tories  and  Great  Britain  became,  of  necessity,  a  kind 
of  evasion  of  the  actual  state  of  affairs,  because  they 
were  pretending  allegiance  while  acting  independ 
ently.  John  Adams  complained  that  all  the  pow 
ers  of  government  were  left  in  the  hands  of  assem 
blies,  conventions  and  committees,  which  composed 
a  scene  of  much  confusion  and  injustice.  He 
dreaded  the  continuance  of  this,  as  tending  to  injure 
the  morals  of  the  people,  and  to  destroy  their  habit 
of  order  and  attachment  to  regular  government.2 

1  Rivington's  Gazette,  December  29,  1774,  "  Massachusettensis, " 
«J.  Adams,  "Works,"  Vol.  III.,  34. 


DOWNFALL    OF  THE    OLD  FAITH.  93 

In  1768,  Samuel  Adams  probably  stood  alone  in 
the  belief  that  America  must  become  independent. 
Many  of  the  leading  patriots  had  not  come  that  far 
on  the  rebellious  road,  as  late  as  1775.     Washing- 
Iton  was  not  sure  that  the  war  was  to  be  one  of  in- 
lependence  even  when  he  took  command  at  Cam- 
>ridge.     Jefferson    denied    that    armies    had    been 
raised  with  the  desire  of  separation  from  England. 
Resistance    to    arbitrary    misgovernment  and    dis 
affection   to   Great    Britain   were   entirely   different 
matters.     Loyalists  had,  indeed,  warned  the  colo 
nists  against  gilding  over  the  resolves  against  Parlia 
ment  with  professions  of  loyalty  to  the  king.     "  The 
golden  leaf  is  too  thin  to   conceal  the  treason," 
sneered  Massachusettensis.1     But  the  Whigs  were 
more    sincere    than    the    Tories    would    believe. 
Franklin  would  willingly  have  pledged  his  private 
fortune  to  compensate  the  East  India  Company  for 
their  loss  at  the  Boston  Tea  Party.     In  fact  the 
I  responsible  statesmen  of  America  were  slow  to  ad- 
Ivocate  the  doctrine  of  independence,  until  obscure 
Isong  writers  and  newspaper  humorists  had  for  many 
[rnonths  set  the  idea  buzzing  in  the  minds  of  dis- 
^ontented  men.2 

In  July  of  1775,  Massachusetts  formed  the  first 
government  in  which  the  king's  authority  was  dis- 

1  Tyler,  "Literary  History  of  American  Revolution,"  I.,  257. 

2  It  is  not  in  the  province  of  this  work  to  tell  the  full  history  of 
the  gradual  and  reluctant  consent  of  the  colonies  to  a  declaration  of 
independence.     The  opposition  of  the  Loyalists  is  alone  the  proper 
theme.    Only  a  rapid  summary  of  the  other  facts  is  fitting  in  this  place. 


94  THE   LOYALISTS. 

allowed.1  A  proclamation,  enjoining  all  to  obey  the 
new  government,  closed  with  an  invocation,  "  God 
save  the  people,"  instead  of  the  ''God  save  the 
king"  which  alone  a  Loyalist  could  recognize. 
Meanwhile,  in  Congress,  Samuel  Adams  urged  that 
to  declare  the  colonies  independent  would  simply 
be  to  recognize  a  fact.  Dickinson,  of  Pennsylvania, 
opposed,  urging  that  Congress  must  have  instruc 
tions  from  each  colony.  This  view  prevailed,  and 
Richard  Penn,  an  undoubted  Tory,  was  sent  with  a 
petition  to  their  "  Most  gracious  sovereign  "  George 
III.  This  the  king  refused  to  receive,  declared  the 
colonies  in  rebellion,  and  called  on  his  loyal  sub 
jects  to  aid  in  their  subjection.  He  then  tried  to 
hire  twenty  thousand  Russian  troops,  but  the  Em 
press  Catharine  refused  him.  Some  petty  German 
princes,  however,  supplied  his  demand  for  mercenary 
troops,  and  this  success  dealt  one  of  the  heaviest 
blows  to  the  hopes  of  the  king's  friends  in  America. 
They  made  sorry  work  trying  to  picture  George 
III.  as  a  "benign  Augustus,"  when  confronted  with 
this  seeming  proof  that  he  was  an  "  implacable 
Nero."  Nor  did  Parliament  give  them  any  aid,  for 
it  supported  the  action  of  the  king  and  declared 
that  Americans  had  forfeited  their  lives  and  fortunes 
to  the  justice  of  the  state.  The  kind-hearted  Dart 
mouth  was  succeeded  by  the  truculent  Lord  Ger 
main.  Every  measure  tended  to  strengthen  the 

TThe  facts  in  this  account,  except  where  special  reference  is 
given,  are  taken  from  Fiske's  "American  Revolution." 


DOWNFALL    OF  THE    OLD   FAITH.  95 

hands  of  the  Whig-  and  rpnrW  f^  Tory  ^r-Jrn^ 
potent  than  ever.  In  October  of  1775,  the  British 
burned  Falmouth,  leaving  its  people  without  cover 
at  the  mercy  of  a  Maine  winter.  That  outrage  and 
the  news  of  the  German  "myrmidons"  reached 
Congress  at  the  same  time.  Tory  counsels  were 
brushed  aside.  New  Hampshire,  Virginia  and 
South  Carolina  were  advised  to  frame  their  own 
governments.1  South  Carolina  was  to  seize  British 
vessels  found  in  its  waters.  Congressional  com 
mittees  were  organized  to  correspond  with  foreign 
powers. 

Only  a  short  time  before,  a  delegate  had  said  with 
horror,  that  he  had  heard  of  persons  in  America 
who  wished  to  break  off  with  Great  Britain,  and  "  a 
proposal  had  been  made  to  apply  to  France  and 
Spain."  He  threatened  to  inform  his  constituents, 
and  added,  "  I  apprehend  the  man  who  should  pro 
pose  it  would  be  torn  to  pieces  like  De  Witt."  2 
There  appeared,  soon  after  this,  Paine's  "  Common 
Sense  "  to  reinforce  the  logic  of  the  hiring  of  the 
mercenaries.  And,  as  if  the  over-matched  Loyal 
ists  had  not  odds  enough  in  argument  already, 
Parliament  again  came  to  the  aid  of  those  whol/ 
wanted  reasons  for  independence.  It  passed  an  actf 

'See -Journals  of  Congress,  "Vol.  I.,  215,  219.  It  is  to  be  no 
ticed  that  Congress  recognized  the  necessity  of  enlisting  the  democracy 
in  its  cause,  for  they  recommended  a>//and/>w  representation  of 
the  people— a  method  of  election  unknown  in  any  of  the  colonies 
before. 

2J.  Adams,  "Works,"  Vol.  II.,  458. 


9  THE   LOYALISTS. 

(to  close  American  ports,  and  authorized  the  con- 
I  fiscation  of  American  ships,  and  the  impressment 
y  of  American  seamen.      Congress  retorted  by  throw- 
Jing  open  American  ports  to  all  nations,  and  recom 
mended  the  disarmament  of  all  Tories  who  refused 
to  aid  in  the  common  defense.     Still  they  continued 
"  to  hobble  along  under  a  fatal  attachment  to  Great 

Britain." 

* 

North  Carolina,  where  the  King  had  looked  with 
confidence  for  adherents,  took  the  first  decisive  ac 
tion  for  independence.  The  very  loyalty  of  the 
back  country  forced  the  issue  at  an  early  date.  In 
May  of  1775,  the  royal  governor  received  addresses 
signed  by  1,500  men  from  the  central  and  western 
counties  of  the  state.1  The  Scotch  Highlanders, 
who  had  settled  the  uplands  of  North  Carolina  and 
Georgia,  were  not  in  sympathy  with  the  revolution 
ary  movement.  After  negotiating  with  Governor 
Martin,  and  learning  that  Sir  Henry  Clinton  with 
2,000  troops  and  Sir  Peter  Parker  with  seven  regi 
ments  and  ten  ships  of  war  were  coming  to  the  aid 
of  the  loyal  subjects,  .Donald  McDonald,  a  leader 
among  the  Highlanders,  issued  a  manifesto.  He 
reassured  the  faithful  and  invited  them  to  repair  to 
His  Majesty's  Royal  standard  erected  at  Cross 
Creek.  "  Those,"  he  continued,  "  who  have  been 
under  the  unhappy  necessity  of  submitting  to  the 
mandates  of  Congress  and  Committees  — those  law 
less,  usurped  and  arbitrary  tribunals  —  will  have  an 

i  "North  Carolina  Records,"  Vol.  IX.,  1256. 


DOWNFALL    OF   THE    OLD   FAITH.  97 

opportunity  to  restore  peace  and  tranquility  to  this 
distracted  land —  to  open  again  the  glorious  streams 
of  commerce  —  to  partake  of  the  blessings  insepar 
able  from  a  regular  administration  of  justice  and  to 
be  again  reinstated  in  the  favorable  opinion  of  their 
sovereign."  [  The  efforts  of  McDonald  and  some 
twenty-five  others  with  local  influence,  who  were 
commissioned  by  Governor  Martin,2  succeeded  in 
raising  some  1,600  men.  This  little  army  of  Loyal 
ists  started  for  the  coast ;  but,  at  Moore's  Creek 
bridge,  were  met  and  defeated  by  Richard  Caswel 
with  about  one  thousand  minute  men  and  militia 
The  moral  effect  was  immense.  Within  ten  days 
an  army  of  10,000  militia  stood  ready  to  repulse 
Clinton,  and  Tory  influence  was  temporarily  elimi 
nated  from  the  field  of  politics.  A  provincial  con 
gress  was  assembled,  which  at  once  instructed  the 
North  Carolina  delegates  to  concur  in  a  declaration 
of  independence  and  in  measures  for  making  for 
eign  alliances. 

The  situation  in  Georgia  was  unfavorable  to  rev 
olution.  In  addition  to  the  fact  that  the  colony  was 
annually  receiving  pecuniary  aid  from  the  British 
Parliament,3  the  inhafojtp"*"  w**ffi  fr  mngfani-  danger 
frpmjhe^attacks  oLthe  Creek  IndiansTand  felt  that 
their  hands  were  full.  The  Tory  party,  under  the 
leadership  of  the  prudent  Governor  Wright,  had 
prevented  the  sending  of  any  delegate  to  the  first 

1  "  North  Carolina  Records,"  Vol.  X.,  429. 
"Ibid.,  Vol.  X.,  441. 

>'  Rivingtorf  s  Gazette,  October  13,  1774. 
8 

S3 

\ 


98  THE   LOYALISTS. 

congress,  and  but  one,  locally  chosen,  was  sent  to 
the  second.  Then,  the  British  made  the  mistake  of 
sending  a  threatening  squadron  to  Savannah.  The 
insult  ruined  the  work  of  Wright ;  the  Whigs  seized 
|the  governor  and  such  of  the  crown  officers  as  had 
not  fled,  and  at  once,  in  February  of  1776,  assem 
bled  a  provincial  congress.  This  body  instructed 
its  delegates  to  "  concur  in  all  measures  calculated 
for  the  common  good." 

South  Carolina  had  been  in  a  condition  resembling 
its  northern  neighbor.  Wrhigs  predominated  along 
the  seaboard,  but  the  farmers  and  herdsmen  of  the 
interior  had  Tory  sympathies.  Campbell,  the 
royal  governor,  made  the  most  of  this,  and  sent  his 
agents,  not  only  to  arouse  the  Tories  of  the  western 
counties,  but  to  enlist  the  aid  of  the  Indians.  The 
latter  attempt  came  to  little,  except  to  make  Eng 
land  hated  the  more.  After  Campbell's  escape  to 
a  British  man-of-war,  control  of  the  colony  fell  for 
the  time  into  Whig  hands.  They,  under  the  lead 
of  Rutledge,  repulsed  the  British  attack  on  Charles 
ton,  enforcing  the  logic  of  Washington's  victory  at 
Boston.  After  framing  a  new  government,  they 
instructed  their  delegates  in  practically  the  same 
phrase  as  Georgia. 

In  Virginia  there  had  been  a  very  even  balance  of 
forces,  but  the  action  of  the  governor  gradually  es 
tranged  the  loyal  people  of  the  colony.  He  first 
threatened,  and  then  freed  by  proclamation  all  the 
negroes  and  indented  servants  who  should  enlist  to 


DOWNFALL    OF   THE    OLD   FA  I  TIL  99 

reduce  the  colony-  to  subjection.  No  heed  was 
paid  to  the  proclamation.  In  November  of  1775, 
he  had  built  a  fort  where,  with  the  aid  of  some 
loyal  Scottish  merchants,  he  hoped  to  defend  Nor 
folk.  The  Patriots  defeated  the  loyal  band,  and 
forced  Lord  Dunmore  and  the  Scottish  merchants 
of  Norfolk  to  take  refuge  on  board  ships  in  the 
harbor.  There,  with  their  families,  they  were  hud 
dled  in  cheerless  cabins,  without  food  or  warmth.1 
Hoping  to  relieve  their  wants,  Lord  Dunmore  sent 
a  flag  of  truce  to  Norfolk  and  asked  for  fresh  pro 
visions,  which  were  refused.  Then,  acting  upon  the 
royal  instructions  in  regard  to  a  town  in  actual  re 
bellion,  Lord  Dunmore  ordered  the  town  to  be 
burnt.  This  was  done  in  such  a  relentless  manner 
that  Virginia  now  had  as  good  a  reason  as  Massa 
chusetts  for  wishing  independence.  In  the  follow 
ing  May,  a  convention  favorable  to  independence 
instructed  Virginia's  delegates  to  that  end,  and 
voted  to  establish  a  new  government  for  the  com 
monwealth. 

In  the  same  month,  Rhode  Island  omitted  the 
king's  name  from  the  public  documents,  and,  as  to 
the  relations  with  England,  concurred  with  the 
measures  of  Congress.2  Massachusetts  took  occa 
sion,  during  the  May  town-meeting,  to  vote  the  sup 
port  of  the  colony  to  a  declaration  of  independence 
by  Congress.  The  future  status  of  the  avowed 

1  Bancroft,  "  United  States,"  Vol.  IV.,  320. 

«"  Rhode  Island  Colonial  Records,"  Vol.  VII.,' 522-526. 


100  THE  LOYALISTS. 

Tory  was  significantly  stated  in  the  instructions 
sent  to  the  Massachusetts  delegates  by  the  Boston 
town-meeting.  "  For  prayers  of  peace  (the  king) 
has  tendered  the  sword ;  for  liberty,  chains  ;  for 
safety,  death.  Loyalty  to  him  is  now  treason  to_pur 
country"  Here  was  the  keynote  to  the  whole 
future  treatment  of  the  Tory  by  the  Whig.  The 
Tory  was  no  longer  regarded  as  a  political  oppo 
nent  to  be  coerced,  but  as  a  traitor  deserving  retrib 
utive  justice. 

Meanwhile,  in  Congress,  a  resolution T  was  adopted 
!  which,  with  its  preamble,  practically  settled  the 
(whole  matter.  The  preamble  declared  that  the 
American  people  could  no  longer  conscientiously 
take  oath  to  support  any  government  under  the 
crown  of  Great  Britain.  All  such  governments 
should  be  totally  suppressed.  The  resolution  then 
recommended  that  all  colonies  form  independent 
governments  for  themselves.  Nearly  a  month 
passed  before  another  step  was  taken,  .and  then 
Richard  Henry  Lee  offered  his  resolution  for  de 
claring  the  United  Colonies  free  and  independent 
States.  John  Adams  seconded  the  motion.  It  was 
resisted  by  the  most  powerful  representatives  of 
New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  on  the  ground  that 
the  middle  colonies  were  not  ready  for  such  a 
measure.  Finally,  to  maintain  harmony,  a  post 
ponement  of  the  question  for  three  weeks  was  voted. 

i  "Journals  of  Congress,"   May,  15,  1776;  Preamble,  May  10, 
Resolve. 


DOWNFALL    OF   THE    OLD   FAITH.  IOI 

During  these  weeks  of  grace,  the  work  of  conver 
sion  went  on  rapidly.  Connecticut,  like  Rhode 
Island,  had  no  neeji.of  a  .riejv  government,  and  had 
only  to  omit  the  King's  name  from  her  public  clocu- 
ments..  This  and  the  instruction  of  her  delegates 
for  independence  was  done  in  the  middle  of  the 
month  of  June.  On  the  following  day,  New  Hamp 
shire  declared  for  independence  and  established 
a  new  government.  In  New  Jersey  there  was  a 
strong  loyal  party  supporting  the  Tory  governor, 
Franklin.1  Under  his  influence  the  assembly  had, 
only  recently,  instructed  the  delegates  against  inde 
pendence  and  had  resolved  to  send  a  petition  to  the 
King.  A  committee  sent  by  Congress  coerced  the 
Assembly,  which  yielded,  and  was  at  once  pro 
rogued  by  the  governor.  The  revolutionary  faction 
now  gained  control,  arrested  Governor  Franklin  and 
sent  him  to  Connecticut  for  safe-keeping.2  Within 
a  week,  the  Whigs  organized  a  new  government  and 
instructed  their  delegates  for  independence. 

Meanwhile,  in  Pennsylvania.  IVIaryland  and^New 
York,  the  political  campaign  became  daily  more 
active  and  more  uncertain  in  its  result.  John 
Adams  asserted,  many  years  later,  that  "  New  York 
and  Pennsylvania  were  so  nearly  divided  —  if  indeed 
their  propensity  was  not  against  independence  — 
that,  if  New  England  on  the  one  side  and  Virginia 
on  the  other  had  not  kept  them  in  awe,  they  would 

1  Son  of  Benjamin  Franklin. 

2  June  1 6,  1776. 


102  THE   LOYALISTS. 

have  joined  the  British." l  Timothy  Pickering 
called  Pennsylvania  "  the  enemy's  country,"  2  and 
the  philosopher,  Curwen,  thought  that  the  Quakers 
and  Dutchmen  had  too  great  regard  for  ease  and 
property  to  sacrifice  either  on  the  altar  of  an  un 
known  goddess  of  rather  doubtful  divinity.3  In 
that  colony  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  proprietary 
government  was  able  to  wield  a  powerful  opposition. 
They  were  reinforced  by  the  Quakers  who  wished 
to  avoid  war  on  any  terms.  In  convention 4  they 
denounced  the  putting  down  of  kings  and  govern 
ments,  asserting  that  such  action  was  God's  preroga 
tive  and  not  men's.  They  proclaimed  an  abhorrence 
of  measures  tending  to  independence.  This  gentle 
and  peaceable  disapproval,  enforced  by  the  conserva 
tism  of  the  Pennsylvania  Germans,  delayed  favorable 
action  by  that  colony,  until  the  mass  meeting  at  the 
state  house,  in  the  middle  of  May,  denounced  the 
act  of  the  assembly  which  had  instructed  its  dele 
gates  in  Congress  to  oppose  independence.  This 
event  simply  meant  that  the  party  favorable  to 
independence,  failing  to  control  the  legally  elected 
assembly,  had  now  resorted  to  an  extra-legal  means 
to  defeat  the  evident  wish  of  the  legal  majority.5 

'John  Adams,  "  Works,"  Vol.  X.,  63. 

2  It  is  to  be  remembered,  however,  both  were  New  England  men. 

3 Curwen' s  "Journal,"  p.  26. 

4Fiske,  "American  Revolution,"  Vol.  I.,  186. 

5  However,  as  Mr.  Lincoln  has  shown  in  his  "Revolutionary 
Movement  in  Pennsylvania,"  this  majority  was  only  of  the  limited 
number  to  whom  the  suffrage  had  been  jealously  restricted.  Now 
the  people  at  large  were  appealed  to. 


DOWNFALL    OF  THE    OLD  FAITH. 


103 


Then,  while  the  Tories  were  cowed  by  a  reign  of 
terror,  the  Whigs  called  a  convention  to  which 
delegates  were  elected  favorable  to  independence. 
Late  in  June  this  convention  falteringly  pledged  the 
colony  to  that  measure. 

The  popularity  of  Robert  Eden,  the  Governor  of 
Maryland,1  and  the  immunity  from  British  insul 
which  that  colony  had  enjoyed,  gave  the  Tor> 
party  great  strength.  Nothing  but  the  active 
campaign  carried  on  by  Samuel  Chase  and  Charles 
Carroll  in  every  county  won  that  colony  to  the  side 
of  independence.  When  that  decision  became  evi 
dent,  Eden,  alone  of  all  the  royal  governors,  de 
parted  in  peace,  and  the  Maryland  delegates  were 
instructed  to  agree  to  independence.  Twelve 
colonies 2  now  stood  pledged  to  separation  from 
Great  Britain. 

New  York,  the  stronghnldof  Toryigrp  in  Amgr- 


ica,  could  not  he  brought  into  line.  As  a  com 
mercial  state,  with  only  one  seaport,  it  had  every 
reason  to  hesitate.  The  British  army  was  on  its1 
way  to  attack  and  seize  the  port,  and  the  probability 
was  very  small  of  a  successful  defense  by  Washing 
ton's  "  rotten  regiments  of  rag  fair,"  as  the  Tories 
called  his  provincials.  The  course  of  events  there 
will  receive  attention  in  the  following  chapter. 
Here  it  is  sufficient  to  note  that  the  twelve  colonies 

l"  Maryland  Archives,"  Journals  and  Correspondence  of  Com 
mittee  of  Safety,  1775-6,  pp.  334,  338,  355,  357- 
2  Delaware  had  acquiesced  June  14,  1776. 


104  THE   LOYALISTS. 

agreed  unanimously  on  July  2,  to  a  declaration  of 
their  independence  of  Great  Britain,  and  on  July 
9th  their  resolution  was  formally  adopted  by  New 
York. 

With  the  final  decision  of  this  momentous  ques 
tion  the  position  of  the  Tory  in  America  was  wholly 
changed.  He  was  no  longer  a  mere  political 
opponent  of  the  Whig.  Little  as  he  had  been 
tolerated  during  the  great  political  struggle  for 
supremacy,  and  scornfully  as  his  arguments  and 
cautions  and  threats  had  been  treated,  he  was  at 
least  recognized  as  an  opponent  with  possible  rights. 

f  Henceforth  every  Tory  was  an  enemy  in  camp,  a 
suspected  traitor  and  a  wretch  to  be  charged  with 
all  the  ills  of  the  state.  He  was  accused  of  enjoy 
ing  the  protection  of  the  new  state  without  giving 
it  support  in  return. 

From  the  Tory's  own  point  of  view,  also,  his 
position  was  changed.  He  no  longer  argued 
against  the  measures  of  the  Whigs,  with  a  hope 

^  of  preventing,  but  became  a  fault-finder,  a  prophet 
of  evil,  and  a  railer  against  independence.    ^As  the, 
Tories  grew  more  and  more  hopeless  the  nature  of 


their  assertions  grew  more  reckless.     One  solemnly 


assured  the  readers  of  Rivingtoris  Gazette  that,  "  If 
an  archangel  had  planned  the  connection  between 
Great  Britain  and  her  colonies,  he  could  not  have 
fixed  it  upon  a  more  lasting  and  beneficial  founda 
tion."  l  Another  was  confident  that,  if  America 

lRivington*s  Gazette,  June  12,  1782. 


DOWNFALL    OF   THE    OLD  FAITH.  105 

should  get  her  independence,  "  that  unfortunate  land 
would  be  a  scene  of  bloody  discord  and  desolation 
for  ages."  Internecine  war  would  continue  until  a 
few  provinces  or  one  sect  should  conquer  all  the 
rest.1  Then  "  the  dream  of  independency  must 
vanish  like  the  baseless  fabric  of  a  vision."  Eng 
land,  the  Tory  believed,  was  as  necessary  to  Amer 
ica's  safety  and  honor  as  a  parent  to  his  children 
in  an  infant  state.2 

The  language  of  the  Declaration  was  ridiculed 
by  witty  writers  who  especially  attacked  the  phrase 
concerning  the  natural  freedom  and  equality  of 
men.  One  told  in  humorous  rhyme  of  the  rival 
suitors  of  the  maiden  liberty  : 

"After  John  Presbyter 
Will  Democrat  came  next, 
Who  swore  all  men  were  even 
And  seemed  to  be  quite  vext, 
That  there's  a  king  in  heaven. 
Will  curst  the  hilly  country  '  round ' 
Because  it  made  unequal  ground." 

The  horses  in  the  Continental  army  were  very 
truthfully  described  : 

"With  bellies  full  of  liberty, 
But  void  of  oats  and  hay."  3 

As  the  misery  and  ruin  extended  in  the  struggling 
colonies,  a  loyal  writer  sneeringly  observed  that 

*  Rivingtort  s  Gazette,  July  17,  1779. 
2Curwen's  "Journal,"  p.  334. 
*"  Loyalist  Poetry,"  pp.  65-78. 


106  THE   LOYALISTS. 

Americans  "  advanced  rapidly  in  independence.  At 
the  beginning  of  the  contest  they  were  independent 
of  principle,  independent  of  credit  and  independent 
of  all  gratitude  to  the  mother  country.  .  .  .  Since 
which  time  thousands  have  been  independent  of 
cash,  clothing,  law,  liberty,  domestic  comfort  and 
every  social  enjoyment."  l 

The  Whigs,  themselves,  did  not  get  an  unalloyed 
pleasure  in  contemplation  of  the  new  state  of  in 
dependence.  "We  tremble,"  wrote  a  Whig  to  an 
English  friend,  "  at  the  thought  of  separation  from 
Great  Britain.  All  our  glory  and  happiness  have 
been  derived  from  you.  But  we  are  in  danger  of 
being  shipwrecked  upon  your  rocks.  To  avoid 
these  we  are  willing  to  be  tossed  without  a  compass 
or  a  guide  for  a  while  upon  an  ocean  of  blood."  2 
"We  were,"  admitted  another,  "formed  by  Eng 
land's  laws  and  religion.  We  were  clothed  with 
her  manufactures  and  protected  by  her  fleets  and 
armies.  Her  Kings  are  the  umpires  of  our  disputes 
and  the  center  of  our  Union.  In  a  word,  the  island 
of  Britain  is  the  fortress  in  which  we  are  sheltered 
from  the  machinations  of  all  the  Powers  of  Europe."3 

The  Tories  believed  all  this  and  more.  They 
were  honestly  aghast  that  men  coulo!  be  sojnad  as 
to  -saaLaway  alMhese  blgssed_fruits  of_jui^n, and 
fly  to  an  independence  that  they  knew  not  of.  In 

iRivingtorts  Gazette,  May  I,  1782. 

2  "The  Remembrancer,"  Vol.  I.,  56. 

3  "American  Archives,"  series  4,  Vol.  I.,  335. 


DOWNFALL    OF   THE    OLD   FAITH.  107 

fact,  many  conservative  men  were  drawn  into  the 
Tory  ranks  when  the  tremendous  fact  of  the 
Declaration  came  upon  them  with  all  its  relentless 
significance. 

The  extravagant  demonstrations  of  joy  on  the 
part  of  the  jnob  caused  revulsion  in  the  minds  of 
many  sensible  men.  After  the  Proclamation  of  In 
dependence,  in  Boston,  the  King's  arms  and  every 
other  sign  with  any  resemblance  of  it,  "  whether 
Lion  and  Crown,  Pestle  and  Mortar  and  Crown, 
Heart  and  Crown,  etc.,  together  with  every  sign 
that  belonged  to  a  Tory  was  taken  down,"  and  of 
the  latter  a  general  conflagration  was  made  in  King's 
Street.1  In  New  York,  the  soldiers  pulled  down 
the  leaden,  statue  of  George  III.  on  the  Bowling 
Green.  Such  disregard  of  that  very  common  con 
servatism,  which  is  more  annoyed  by  the  destruc 
tion  of  material  things  than  of  intangible  principles, 
lost  the  Whigs  many  easy-going  citizens  who  had, 
up  to  this  time,  gone  about  their  daily  work  un 
moved  by  the  prevailing  discussion. 

»"The  Remembrancer,"  Vol.  III.,  25. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   OVERTHROW    OF   THE    LOYAL    STRONGHOLD. 

THE  reason  why  New  York  was  the  last  state  to 
agree  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence  might  be 
suggested  by  certain  generalizations,  without  resort 
to  special  inquiry.  It  bordered  on  Canada  and  was 
influenced  by  loyalty  there.  Its  commercial  inter 
ests  were  such  as  to  make  England's  powerful  pro 
tection  desirable.  But  a  closer  investigation  of  its 
history  during  the  years  that  preceded  the  Revolu 
tion  reveals  other  reasons  why  over  half  the  refugees 
from  the  thirteen  colonies,  of  whom  we  have  any 
record,  were  citizens  of  New  York.1 

"The  Stamp  Act  caused  "  a  universal  tumult," 
and  even  existing  party  lines  were  for  the  moment 
obliterated.  The  governor  found  himself  supported 
only  by  his  .personal  friends,  obsequiously  reinforced 
by  the  royal  officers  and  the  Episcopal  clergy.  But, 
as  the  action  of  the  extremists  in  the  opposition  to 
England  grew  more  reckless,  all  the  conservatives 

1  Flick,  "Loyalism  in  New  York,"  p.  180.  As  Professor  Flick 
has  gone  more  carefully  into  the  history  of  the  loyalists  in  New  York 
than  a  general  writer  on  the  subject  of  the  loyalists  can  do,  I  shall 
draw  largely  on  his  material  in  this  chapter,  where  it  is  supported 
by  the  results  of  my  own  studies. 

108 


OVERTHROW  OF  THE  LOYAL  STRONGHOLD.  109 

began  to  draw  to  the  loyal  side.  Soon,  all  sup 
porters  of  the  British  measures  merged  into  the  old 
Episcopal  or  DeLancey  party,  and  all  opposition 
became  identified  with  the  Presbyterians  or  the  Liv 
ingston  party.  The  old  political  feud  between  the 
leading  families  does  not  immediately  concern  us, 
but  the  religious  element,  prominent  among  the 
causes  of  the  Revolution,  deserves  a  digression. 

In  New  York  and  in  New  England,  too,  the  di 
vision  of  parties  along  religious  lines  was  very  plain. 
In  New  England,  the  people  became  convinced  that 
their  religion  as  well  as  their  liberty  was  in  danger.1 
An  evident  design,  on  the  part  of  the  ministry,  to 
senoTa  bishop  to  America  aroused  resolute  opposi 
tion.  The  opponents  argued  that,  if  Parliament 
could  create  dioceses  and  appoint  bishops,  they 
could  collect  ^he^and  crush  heresy.  The  advo 
cates,  on  the  otner  hand,  claimed  that  the  Anglican 
church  in  America  had  a  right  to  complete  its  own 
organization  by  the  introduction  of  bishops,  and 
that  an  episcopate  was  no  menace  to  the  religious  or 
civil  liberties  of  the  colonies.  A  state  church  was 
assumed  to  be  an  essential  part  of  the  body  politic. 
The  Episcopal  and  Congregational  churches  were 
therefore  pitted  against  each  other  in  New  England  ; 
,,and,  as  the  Episcopalians  received  support  from 
Great  Britain,  they,  as  a  sect,  came  to  be  regarded 
as  opposed  to  colonial  interests.  But,  it  is  not  to 

1  "  Publications  of  the  Colonial  Society  of  Massachusetts,"   Vol. 
III.,  42. 


s 


I 
HO  THE   LOYALISTS. 

be  ignored  that  the  Episcopalians  and  the  men 
whom  we  should  expect  to  be  supporters  of  the 
King  and  Parliament,  the  crown  officers,  were 
identical.  As  a  result  the  political  antipathies  were 
only  intensified  by  the  religious  differences. 

The  demagogues  were  quick  to  see  this  danger 
which  threatened  the  Whig  cause.  They  accused 
the  Episcopal  clergy  of  writing  home  "amazing 
falsehoods,"  and  eagerly  seized  upon  intercepted 
letters  to  publish  these  evidences  of  what  they 
chose  to  call  treason.  Much  capital  was  made  of 
Samuel  Peters'  letter  which  anticipated  the  coming 
of  the  British  soldiers  to  Boston,  and  gloated  over 
the  fact  that  "  so  soon  as  they  come  hanging  work 
will  go  on."  He  comforted  the  Episcopalians  with 
the  assurance  that  the  blood  sprinkled  on  the  side- 
posts  would  preserve  the  faithful.1  Another  letter 
of  his  especially  concerned  the  non-Anglican  clergy 
of  Connecticut.  The  Episcopal  church,  there,  he 
said,  must  soon  fall  a  victim  "  to  the  rage  of  the 
Puritan  mobility,  if  the  old  serpent,  that  dragon  is 
not  bound."  Calling  attention  to  the  support  given 
the  Whig  party  by  the  Puritan  clergy,  he  wrote, 
"  spiritual  iniquity  rides  in  high  places,  with  hal- 
berts,  pistols  and  swords,"  and  he  pictured  the 
preachers  and  magistrates,  on  their  "  pious  sabbath 
day  "...  leaving  their  pulpits  "  for  gun  and  drum  " 
and  setting  off  for  Boston  "  cursing  the  King  and 

1  '  <  Journals  of  Each  Provincial  Congress  of  Massachusetts, ' '  pp. 


OVERTHROW  OF  THE  LOYAL  STRONGHOLD.  Ill 

Lord  North,  General  Gage,  the  bishops  and  their 
curates,  and  the  Church  of  England."  He,  himself, 
had  had  his  windows  broken,  his  clothes,  and  even 
his  holy  gown,  rent  for  urging  the  church  people 
not  to  take  up  arms.  The  mob  had  cried,  down 
with  the  church  and  "  the  rags  of  popery."  "  The 
Lord  deliver  us  from  anarchy,"  prayed  the  good 
man,  after  declaring  in  despair  "  rebellion  is  obvious, 
and  treason  is  common,  and  robbery  is  the  daily 
devotion  !  "  It  may  be  readily  conceived  that  such 
epistolary  amenities  when  read  before  the  Massa 
chusetts  provincial  congress,  did  not  grace  the 
cause  of  the  Anglican  clergy. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war,  the  Anglican  church 
had  three  hundred  parishes  in  America.  In  the 
South,  7Twas"tEeTeIigion  of  the  wealthy  and  cul 
tured.  It  was  the  church  of  the  representatives  of 
royalty  in  the  courts  of  the  provincial  governors, 
and  of  those  who  sought  political  prominence  in 
the  colonial  assemblies.  Judges  and  lawyers  and 
the  collectors  of  the  ports  were  almost  sure  to  grace 
Episcopal  pews.  Yet  the  rivalry  between  the 
Church  of  England  and  other  denominations  was 
identified  very  little  with  politics  in  the  southern 
states.1  In  South  Carolina,  only  five  out 


twenty  Episcopal  ministers  were  Loyalists  ;  although 


1  Chevalier  de  Fleury,  an  observing  Frenchman,  said,  however, 
"The  Quakers,  Methodists,  Anglicans  and  other  sects  which  have 
a  sort  of  affinity  with  monarchy  are  intestine  but  paralytic  enemies." 
See  Stevens'  Facsimiles  No.  1616. 


112  THE  LOYALISTS. 

every  man,  who  took  the  holy  orders,  had  taken  a 
solemn  oath  of  allegiance  ro  the  crown.  Virginia 
"was  a  stronghold  of  the  Episcopacy ;  yet  many  of 
the  church's  adherents  were  in  full  harmony  with 
the  patriotic  spirit.1  Except  those  persons  who  had 
an  economic  reason  in  addition  to  the  religious 
motive,  as  for  example  the  dependents  upon  the 
British  "  society  for  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel," 
few  men  living  south  of  New  York  seem  to  have 
had  their  politics  influenced  by J^dirjceligion. 

^rfTrew"VorK,  "tFe  division  on  religious  lines  was 
plainly  seen  and  commented  upon  at  the  time.  The 
Sons  of  Liberty  were  denounced  by  their  enemies 
as  a  "  Presbyterian  junto."  Not,  as  one  writer  said, 
that  there  were  no  Church  of  England  men  among 
them,  for  "  there  were,  to  their  eternal  shame  be  it 
spoken  !  "  But  they  were  smugglers  of  tea,  or 
merchants  overloaded  with  dry  goods  who  saw 
profit  in  non-importation  measures.  The  chief 
instruments  in  all  these  flaming  measures,  however, 
were  those  "  turbulent,  anti-monarchical"  Presby 
terians.  If  the  English  government  wished  to  look 
for  real  loyalty,  said  the  writer,  it  must  look  in  the 
hearts  of  the  genuine  professors  of  the  English 
Church.2  During  the  late  violent  times,  he  as 
serted,  "  the  Presbyterian  pulpits  groaned  with  the 
most  wicked,  malicious  and  inflammatory  harangues 

»W.  S.  Perry,  "American  Episcopal  Church,"  Vol.  L,  Ch. 
XXIV.  Maryland  was  perhaps  an  exception.  See  "  Md.  Arch.," 
1777-78,  "Journal  of  Council  of  Safety,"  p.  175. 

2  "American  Archives,"  series  4,  Vol.  I.,  301. 


O  VER  THR  OW  OF  THE  LOYAL  STR  ONGHOLD.   1 1 3 

.  .  .  spiriting  their  godly  hearers  to  the  most  vio 
lent  opposition  to  government."  He  closed  with  a 
sanctimonious  picture  of  the  Church  of  England 
people,  during  all  this  agitation,  "  without  any  pub 
lic  oratory  to  spur  them  on  "  doing  from  their  own 
"  truly  loyal  principles,  in  which  care  is  taken  to 
educate  them,"  everything  to  stop  the  rapid  prog 
ress  of  sedition.  He  forgot  in  his  partizan  zeal  that, 
for  a  Tory,  "  public  oratory"  was  not  a  judicious 
way  of  expressing  political  views.  A  coterie  of 
writers,  all  of  whom  were  Episcopalians,  were  writ 
ing  strenuous  Tory  articles  for  publication  in  pamph 
lets  or  the  gazettes.1 

As  a  result  of  the  introduction  of  a  religious  con 
troversy  into  the  larger  political  conflict,  it  came  to 
pass,  in  New  York  and  Connecticut,  that  altar  was 
arrayed  against  altar.  Where  the  British  were  in 
control,  the  Presbyterian  churches  were  insulted  ; 
and  the  patriots,  except  when  restrained  by  motives 
of  policy,  were  ready  for  any  vandalism  against  the 
Episcopal  churches  and  rectories.  After  the  British 
were  in  control  of  Long  Island,  some  young  Tories 
sawed  off  the  steeple  of  the  Presbyterian  church, 
and  they  attempted  the  same  clownish  sacrilege  at 
Jamaica.  The  British  took  out  the  pews  and  used 
the  house  of  worship  as  a  guard  house  ;  while  the 

1  These  writers,  who  were  usually  masked  under  a  nom-de-plume, 
were  Myles  Cooper,  President  of  King's  College,  Dr.  Samuel  Sea- 
bury,  Rev.  T.  B.  Chandler,  Isaac  Wilkins,  Rev.  Chas.  Inglis  and 
Rev.  John  Vardill. 


114  THE   LOYALISTS. 

pulpit  pillar  was  made  to  serve  as  a  hitching  post.1 
When  the  British  soldiers  burned  a  certain  Presby 
terian  church,  a  Whig  editor,  who  chronicled  the 
event,  asked  with  a  rhetorical  flourish,  "  because  we 
refuse  to  worship  your  idol  king,  will  you  prevent 
us  worshiping  the  King  of  Kings?"2  He  forgot 
that,  not  far  away,  a  troop  of  American  cavalry  was 
quartered  in  the  Episcopal  rectory,  the  pews  of  the 
church  being  used  for  firewood,  and  the  church 
itself  utilized  as  a  hospital.3 

Sneering  allusions  were  constantly  made  in  Tory 
literature  to  Presbyterian  deacons  struggling  unsuc 
cessfully  with  the  flesh  and  the  devil ;  *  and  the 
Puritan  mob  facetiously  recognized  the  religious 
views  of  its  Tory  victims  by  branding  them  with 
the  sign  of  the  cross.5  The  satirical  Tory  writers 
loved  to  describe  individual  Whigs,  saying  of  one 
that  "formality  and  a  Presbyterian  face  were  his 
ornaments  "  ;  anotherwas"  a  great  Puritan,  but  with 
out  religion."  A  third  was  a  "  deserter  from  the 
church  of  England,"  and  a  surly  humdrum  son  ot 
liberty.6  The  Puritans,  as  a  sect,  were  reproached 
as  "those  hypocritical  fanatics  who  brought  the 
best  of  princes  to  the  block  "  ;  their  chief  devotion 
lay  in  "odd  perverse  antipathies,"  and,  now,  their 

i  Onderdonk's  "  Revolutionary  Incidents  of  Longlsland,"  p.  132. 
8Moore's  "Diary  of  the  American  Revolution,"  II. ,  192. 
3M.  C.  Tyler,  "  Literary  History  of  the  American  Revolution," 
Vol.  L,  354. 

4  Moore's  "Diary  of  the  Revolution,"  Vol.  II.,  204. 

5  "  Narrative  of  Walter  Bates,"  Kingston,  etc.,  p.  5. 

6  "  Massachusetts  Historical  Soc.  Proc.,"  series  2,  Vol.  XII.,  140. 


OVERTHROW  OF  THE  LOYAL  STRONGHOLD.  115 

absurd  hatred  of  royalty  had  introduced  all  this 
misery  into  a  once  happy  country.1  There  are 
many  assertions  in  contemporary  literature  that 
the  Revolution  was  a  religious  war ;  but  these  are 
the  views  of 'men  with  limited  understandings  who 
saw  in  the  struggle  only  the  phase  in  which  they 
were  interested.  Religious  differences  no  doubt 
greatly  embittered  the  conflict,  and  in  many  cases 
determined  the  sympathy  of  individuals  who  had 
no  other  interest  at  stake. 

In  returning  from  a  long  digression,  which  has 
had  for  its  object  a  summary  examination  of  the 
whole  subject  of  the  part  played  by  religious 
faction  in  the  Revolution,  we  have  to  recall  that^ 
in  New  York,  the  Presbyterians  were  the  adherents 
of  the  Livingstons,  and  the  Episcopalians,  the  fol 
lowers  of  the  De  Lanceys.  The  two  families  and 
their  adherents  appeared  upon  opposite  sides  of  the 
successive  controversies  which  preceded  the  out 
break  of  war.  Upon  the  question  of  non-importa 
tion,  in  1770,  the  Livingston  party  came  out  squarely 
for  a  boycott  of  all  English  goods.2  The  Tories, 
however,  canvassed  the  town  and  defeated  the 
measure  by  a  decisive  majority.  The  non-con 
sumption  was  confined  to  tea  alone. 

Party  rancor  appeared  again  when  the  attempt 
was  made  to  collect  the  tea  tax.  The  Tory  or 
Anglican  party  had  control  of  the  three  branches 

*  Rivington* s  Gazette,  January  31,  1778- 
2 Flick,  "Loyalism  in  New  York,"  p.  21. 


Il6  THE  LOYALISTS. 

of  the  government ;  and  though  the  party  embraced 
Liberals  enough  to  enable  the  Whigs  to  get  a 
committee  of  correspondence  appointed,  yet  the 
other  action  of  the  legislature  was  very  conserva 
tive.  The  dispute  was,  however,  on  the  question 
of  the  form  which  opposition  should  take  ;  for  all 
except  the  ultra-Tories  were  opposed  to  the  Par 
liamentary  exactions.  Liberal  Tories  strove  only 
to  prevent  rash  action.  This  wing  of  the  Tory 
party  was  really  in  control,  and,  after  the  Boston 
Port  Bill,  succeeded,  at  the  mass  meeting  in  the 
city,  in  getting  a  majority  of  the  moderate  com 
mittee-men,  in  the  committee  of  fifty-one  chosen  to 
deal  with  the  problems  of  the  moment. 

The  moderates  won  again  when  the  election  of 
the  delegates  to  the  Continental  Congress  became 
the  political  issue.  In  seven  agricultural  counties 
no  interest  was  shown  in  the  election.  Three 
others  carelessly  authorized  the  city  delegates  to 
act  for  them.1  One  loyal  town  in  Westchester 
County  even  entered  a  protest.  They  were,  they 
declared,  happy  subjects  of  King  George,  and  they 
hoped  to  remain  so.  Seabury,  the  great  Tory 
pamphleteer,  doubted  whether  one  hundredth  part 
of  the  people  acted  in  the  matter.  Yet,  the  moder 
ate  loyalists  were  not  opposed  to  the  Congress,  for 
it  took  the  dispute  out  of  the  hands  of  the  rabble, 
and  rebellion  might  be  avoided  by  its  prudence. 

1  Flick,  "  Loyalism  in  New  York." 


OVERTHROW  OF  THE  LOYAL  STRONGHOLD.  117 

When  this  first  Continental  Congress  adjourned, 
however,  many  of  the  moderate  Tories  disapproved 
of  its  "  dangerous  and  extravagant  measures." 
They  believed  that  it  had  basely  betrayed  the  inter 
ests  of  all  the  colonies.  The  question  was  agitated 
whether  New  York  was  bound  by  the  acts  of  Con 
gress.  Non-consumption  and  non-intercourse  were 
not  relished  by  the  agricultural  interests  of  the 
colony.  Farmers,  who  were  in  no  wise  injured  by 
the  tea  tax,  did  suffer  by  non-intercourse  and  war. 
Congress  was  in  favor  only  in  the  mercantile  centers, 
New  York  and  Albany.  The  moderate  business 
men  were  rebuked  by  the  Sons  of  Liberty  because 
they  did  not  go  far  enough.  Liberal  Loyalists 
were,  in  consequence,  forced  to  join  the  ultra-Loyal 
ists,  repudiate  Congress  and  refuse  to  sign  the 
association.  To  retrieve  the  error  they  had  made 
in  permitting  the  state  to  be  represented  in  Con 
gress,  they  now  endeavored  to  get  control  of  the 
local  legislative  body,  and,  through  it,  to  carry  out 
their  conservative  plan. 

Having  hit  upon  no  effective  plan  of  organization, 
like  the  Whig  committees  of  correspondence,  the 
Tories  began,  as  we  have  seen  them  do  in  Massa 
chusetts,  signing  papers  protesting  against  the  Whig 
resolutions  and  activities.  This  harmless  and  in 
effectual  method  of  checking  the  rebellious  tide  was 
especially  in  vogue  on  Long  Island,  where  a  large 
proportion  of  the  freemen  signed.  The  easy-going 
Dutch  of  King's  County,  however,  simply  ignored 


Ii8  THE   LOYALISTS. 

the  whole  matter.1  Several  counties  repudiated  the 
action  of  Congress  outright.  They  did  not  relish 
the  idea  of  foreign  dictation  as  they  regarded  its 
recommendations.  An  adroit  appeal  had  been 
made  to  the  colonial  self-love,  and  attention  called 
to  the  fact  that  "  laws  made  at  Philadelphia  "  had 
been  imposed  upon  them  "  by  most  imperious 
menaces." 

For  a  time  the  Tory  power  seemed  to  dominate. 
JThe  moderates  controlled  the  New  York  assembly, 
land   all   radical   measures  were  voted  down.     The 
flower  house  refused  to  consider  the  recommenda- 
ftions  of  Congress,  or  even  select  delegates  for  the 
jnext  Congress.     The  Whig  committee  of  inspection 
and  observation  then  proposed  to  elect  members  ; 
and,  in  a  mass    meeting,  they   defeated   the   Tory 
efforts  to  prevent  the  election.     Undismayed,  the 
"  King's  friends  "  vigorously  opposed  the   sending 
of  delegates  to  the  convention  held  for  the  purpose 
of  choosing  New  York's  representatives  at  the  com 
ing  Continental  Congress.     Several  counties    pro 
tested  against  the  sending  of  delegates  by  a  minor 
ity  of  their  freeholders  ;  and  one  county2  opposed  by 
a  solid  majority,  while  another  unanimously  refused 
to  send  representatives.3     Indifference  in  other  parts 
of  the  state,  however,  defeated  the  loyal  attempts 
to  prevent  the  success  of  the  convention.     When 

1  Flick,  "  Loyalism  in  New  York." 

2  Dutchess  County — Flick,  ibid. 

3  Staten  Island. 


OVERTHROW  OF  THE  LOYAL  STRONGHOLD.   119 

this  provincial  convention  met,  it  assumed  legisla 
tive  powers,  and  approved  the  acts  of  Congress 
which  the  more  loyal  assembly  had  frowned  upon. 

This  provincial  convention  was  given  confidence 
by  the  fact  that  the  excitement  after  the  Lexington 
affray  had,  for  the  time,  placed  the  mob  in  power. 
"  New  York  has  been  converted  almost  instantly  as 
St.  Paul  was  of  old,"1  wrote  a  jubilant  Whig,  "a 
Tory  dares  not  open  his  mouth."  Tory  leaders 
became  silent,  and  those  whose  unpleasant  senti 
ments  had  been  recorded  were  forced  to  recant  or 
flee.  Governor  Tryon  lamented  that  the  colony 
was  in  a  state  of  anarchy  and  confusion.  Like  the 
frogs  in  the  fable,  cried  the  Tories,  the  people  had 
rejected  the  government  of  one  king,  Log,  and  were 
now  obliged  to  submit  to  the  tyranny  of  an  hun 
dred  king  storks.  The  committee,  which  the  Tories 
thought  was  in  their  control,  censured  obnoxious 
loyalists,  arrested  and  imprisoned  the  violators  of 
the  association,  and  finally  surrendered  its  powers 
to  the  Provincial  Congress.2 

This  revolutionary  body,  upheld  by  the  second 
Continental  Congress,  now  took  measures  to  make 
sure  of  its  supremacy.  It  threatened  with  an  interdict 
the  county  of  Richmond,  which  had  failed  to  send  a 
representative  ;  and  the  county  yielded  to  the  extent 
of  sending  two  delegates.  The  Continental  Congress 
then  stepped  in  and  outlawed  Queens  County  for  a 

1  "  North  Carolina  Colonial  Records,"  Vol.  IX.,  1247. 

2  See  Flick,  ^Loyalism  in  New  York,"  p.  44  et  seq. 


120  THE   LOYALISTS. 

similar  neglect,  cutting  off  all  its  trade  and  ordering 
the  inhabitants  to  be  disarmed  and  the  leaders  im 
prisoned.  Even  New  York  city  was  whipped  into 
more  submissive  compliance  with  the  will  of  the 
Provincial  Congress.  Its  undesirable  deputies  were 
rejected,  and  the  local  committee  ordered  to  choose 
more  subservient  ones.1  Seeing  the  drift  of  events 
the  Tory  governor,  Tryon,  took  refuge  on  a  British 
warship,  and  performed  the  duties  of  his  impotent 
office  from  that  safe  retreat. 

Yet,  in  spite  of  the  terror  which  it  inspired  in  the 
minds  of  the  ultra-loyalists,  the  Provincial  CongresK\>vV 
was  in  control  of  a  majority  by  no  means  in  favor 
of  separation  from  Great  Britain.  It  was  ready  to 
coerce  the  Tories  who  did  not  march  in  step  with 
its  own  rebellious  advance  ;  but  it  fully  intended  to 
halt  short  of  a  declaration  of  independence.  It 
was  not  at  all  convinced,  as  the  ultra-Whigs 
asserted,  that  "  our  bleeding  country  beckons  us  to 
shut  up  the  temple  of  Janus." 2  The  majority 
regarded  all  its  measures  against  the  Tories  as 
intended  only  to  prevent  them  aiding  the  British 
army,  in  enforcing  the  "  cruel  and  oppressive  acts 
of  Parliament  against  the  liberties  of  America." 
The  Congressional  conscience  was  quieted  by  spe.- 
-  )  cious  phrases  concerning  the  "  immutable  laws  of 
/  self-defense  and  preservation  "  which  justified  every 
reasonable  measure  to  counteract  Tory  disaffection. 

*  Flick,  "  Loyalism  in  New  York,"  p.  49  et  seq. 
2  "Moore's  Diary,"  Vol.  II.,  36. 


OVERTHROW  OF   THE   LOYAL   STRONGHOLD.  121 

In  August  of  1775,  the  Provincial  Congress 
resolved  to  give  an  appearance  of  legality  to  the 
persecution  of  the  Tories.  Any  person,  ran  their 
resolution,  found  guilty  of  supplying  the  "  minis 
terial  "  forces  with  information,  should  be  punished 
by  the  city  or  county  committee  which  made  the 
discovery.  For  furnishing  supplies  the  offender 
forfeited  twice  their  value,  and  was  disarmed  and 
imprisoned.1  Other  offenses  of  similar  nature  were 
given  judicious  attention,  and  the  penalty  always 
reached  the  offender's  property  and  especially  his 
arms. 

A  month  later,  the  Committee  of  Safety  went  < 
step  further.     The  edict  went  forth  that  the  arm; 
of  all  "  non-associators,"  whether  otherwise  offen 
sive  or  not,  should  be  seized.2     The  work  was  a 
once  begun  in  the   region  about  the  city  and  oi 
Long  Island.      It  was  a  curious  collection  of  weap 
ons,  as  we  may  see  from  the  lists  that  were  made 
appraising  the  values,  that  they  might  be  returned 
or  paid  for  after  the  war.     A  silver-hilted  sword,  a 
cutlass  and  a  paunch-belt  and  canteen  were  taken 
from  one  delinquent.     Another  gave  up  a  pair  of 
brass  barreled  pistols,  a  cartouch-belt  and  a  small 
blunderbuss.      A  third   parted    with   a  "  morning 
sword,"  a  pair  of  holster  pistols  and  a  "  Halbert 
Hanger."  3    The  rich  variety  in  the  armament  of  our 

'Flick,  "Loyalism  in  New  York,"  p.  60. 

2 Flick,  Ibid.,  p.  62. 

3  "Calendar  of  New  York  Historical  MSS."  Vol.  I.,  259. 


f   mW£^5 

V  •       <*:•*.' 


122  THE  LOYALISTS. 

forefathers  must  have  been  lavishly  displayed  in  the 
committee  rooms,  where  these  treasures  were  re 
ceived.  A  rough  and  ready  description  of  the  per 
sons  disarmed  sometimes  accompanied  the  appraise 
ment.  "  A  silversmith  who  was  rid  upon  a  rail 
lately"  was  the  unique  label  attached  to  the  name 
of  one  of  the  victims.  The  clerical  work  was  done 
by  the  members  of  the  committees,  who  were  aided 
in  the  execution  of  the  more  difficult  part  of  the 
task  by  the  persuasive  presence  of  the  local  militia. 
This  work  of  disarmmeht  went  on  for  a  month,  and 
then  was  disapproved  by  the  Provincial  Congress ; 
but  not  before  bitter  animosity  was  aroused  against 
the  revolutionary  government. 

The  scruples  of  the  Provincial  Congress  were 
not,  however,  shared  by  the  Continental  Congress ; 
for,  early  in  the  spring  of  1776,*  the  recommenda 
tion  was  made  to  all  the  colonies,  that  all  persons 
who  were  non-associators  or  "  notoriously  disaf- 
jfected  to  the  cause  of  America"  should  be  dis- 
\armed.  This  measure  would  render  harmless  the 
internal  foes,  and  help  to  arm  the  patriot  forces. 
Again  the  work  was  begun  by  the  committees  in 
New  York.  Whole  districts  whose  sentiments  were 
loyal  were  compelled  either  by  the  militia,  or  by 
detachments  of  the  continental  army,  to  give  up 
their  weapons,  and  "  in  the  presence  of  Almighty 
God  "  swear  that  their  fire-arms,  side-arms,  powder 

1  March   14,    1776.      See  "  Journals  of  Congress,"  Vol.  II.,  88, 
also  6. 


OVERTHROW  OF  THE  LOYAL  STRONGHOLD.  123 

and  lead  had  all  been  given  up,  and  that  they  had 
hidden  none  and  destroyed  none.  Gratuitous 
phrases  about  "ministerial  tyranny"  were  thrown 
into  the  wording  of  the  oath,  which  made  it  none 
the  easier  for  a  Tory  to  "  swallow." 

Two  months  later,  it  became  evident  that  the  Pro-! 
vincial  Congress  was  coming  to  the  views  of  thej 
continental  body.  Exasperated  by  the  conduct  of  \ 
the  Queens  County  loyalists,  it  adopted  a  resolution 
to  disarm  them  by  military  force.  Some  had,  it 
was  reported,  declared  Whigs  to  be  worse  than  in 
fidels,  and  had  sworn  to  oppose  Congress  in  seek 
ing  independence,  even  if  they  were  "  quartered  or 
cut  into  inch  pieces."  One  had  assured  a  member 
of  Congress  that  the  devil  would  have  him  soon  and 
carry  him  off  for  his  impudence.  Another  had 
saved  a  friend  from  a  mob  by  warning  him  and 
bribing  a  boatman  to  take  the  endangered  man  on 
board  the  British  ship.2  Such  incorrigible  men  were 
to  be  sent  into  the  neighboring  states  on  parole,3  or, 
if  they  refused,  they  were  to  be  imprisoned.  A  special 
committee  became  necessary  to  execute  this  resolu 
tion,  and,  before  the  midsummer  was  reached,  its 
task  became  so  great  that  a  larger  committee  was 
appointed  with  increased  powers. 

During  all  these  months,  the  Tories  were  harried 
by  the  Whig  militia.     If  the  soldiers  found  a  man 

1  ''New  York  Calendar  of  Historical  MSS.,"  Vol.  I.,  217. 
*Ibid.,  Vol.  I.,  328. 

3  For  original  references  see  Flick,  "  Loyal  ism  in  New  York," 
p.  66. 


124  THE  LOYALISTS. 

in  the  swamps  or  woods,  or  with  a  gun  charged,  or 
in  possession  of  powder,  or  who  was  confused  when 
asked  about  Tory  schemes,  or  who  slandered  Wash 
ington  or  denied  the  authority  of  Congress,  they 
seized  him  and  hurried  him  away  to  be  tried  by  the 
committee.1  The  swamps  of  Long  Island  were  said 
by  the  Whig  officers  to  be  regular  "  nests  of  those 
obnoxious  vermin." 

As  for  the  Tories,  their  confidence  in  the  final 
triumph  of  the  British  arms  gave  them  courage. 
They  had  heard  with  sad  forebodings  of  the  forced 
evacuation  of  Boston  by  the  "  American  Anthony," 
as  Howe  was  called ;  yet  now  they  were  promised 
that  the  British  forces  were  soon  coming  to  New 
York.  They  meant  to  seize  the  city,  and  then  by 
getting  control  of  the  Hudson  they  would  sever 
the  colonies  and  conquer  the  divisions  at  their  lei 
sure.  The  Tory  governor,  from  his  secure  station 
afloat  and  out  of  reach  of  committeemen,2  encour 
aged  them  not  to  yield  their  arms ;  and  the  ship 
Asia  hovered  off  shore  ready  to  supply  the  needy 
with  the  means  of  defense.  So  the  hard-pressed 
Tories  concealed  their  valuable  arms  and  gave  up 
th£  poor  ones  with  daring  dissimulation.  Some- 

'Onderdonk,  "Long  Island,"  Vol.  I.,  73.  One  victim  had 
"more  guns  than  he  ought  "  and  another  "threw  suspicious  look 
ing  writing  in  the  fire." 

2  Washington,  after  urging  the  seizure  of  the  principal  loyalists, 
who,  he  said,  were  so  well  known  that  there  could  be  little  danger 
of  making  a  mistake,  added  "happy  should  I  be  if  the  Governor 
should  be  one  of  them."  See  Washington's  "  Writings,"  Vol.  III., 
273- 


OVERTHROW  OF  THE  LOYAL  STRONGHOLD.  125 

times,  they  retaliated  by  stealing  the  patriot  arms, 
and  in  sundry  places  grew  audacious  enough  to 
parade  and  fire  their  muskets  in  pure  bravado.1 
Nevertheless  they  were  constantly  pressing  upon 
Governor  Tryon  their  distressed  condition,  and  he 
reported  that  they  suffered  "  from  Committees, 
Congresses  and  Minutemen  ...  a  species  of 
tyranny  and  despotism  scarcely  to  be  equalled  in 
History."  They  are,  he  wrote,  without  arms  or 
ammunition  even  for  the  harmless  purpose  of  self- 
defense.  "  They  incessantly  wait  upon  me  with  the 
strongest  assurances  that  they  look  up  to  their  king 
for  protection."  2 

This  activity  against  the  Tories  had  already 
received  the  sanction  of  men  high  in  the  colonial 
estimation.  As  early  as  November  of  1775,  Wash 
ington  had  ordered  the  seizure  of  all  unfriendly 
government  officers  who  were  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  scene  of  war.  To  the  Governor  of  Rhode  Island 
he  addressed  the  rhetorical  question,  whether  it 
would  not  be  "prudent  to  seize  on  those  Tories, 
who  have  been,  are,  and  that  we  know  will  be 
active  against  us  ?  Why  should  persons,  who  are 
preying  on  the  vitals  of  the  country,  be  suffered  to 
stalk  at  large,  whilst  we  know  that  they  will  do  us 
every  mischief  in  their  power."  When  "  Sachem 
Schuyler,"  as  he  was  dubbed  by  the  Tories,  marched 

^nderdonk's  "  Revolutionary  Incidents  in  Long  Island,"  p.  70 
et  seq. 

2  "  New  York  Colonial  MSS.,"  Vol.  VIII.,  662. 


126  THE  LOYALISTS. 

to  the  very  heart  of  the  Loyal  district  in  the  Mo 
hawk  Valley,  disarmed  Sir  John  Johnson  and  his 
loyal  Highlanders,  and  placed  the  leader  under 
heavy  bonds  to  keep  out  of  the  king's  service, 
Washington  wrote  hearty  approval  and  congratu 
lation.  "I  hope,"  he  added,  "that  General  Lee 
will  execute  a  work  of  the  same  kind  on  Long 
Island.  It  is  high  time  to  begin  with  our  internal 
foes  when  we  are  threatened  with  such  severity  of 
chastisement  from  our  kind  parent  without."  l 

Charles  Lee,  who  at  this  time  posed  before  the 
credulous  colonists  as  a  military  genius,  and  whose 
sententious  piety  glowed  most  brightly  when  his 
zeal  was  most  hypocritical,  declared,  when  he  was 
beginning  his  work  on  Long  Island,  "  I  should  be 
responsible  to  God,  my  own  conscience  and  the 
Continental  Congress,  ...  in  suffering  at  so  dan 
gerous  a  crisis,  a  knot  of  professed  foes  to  American 
liberty  to  remain  any  longer  within  our  bosom."  2 

As  soon  as  Washington  felt  sure  of  the  safety  of 
Boston,  he  had  moved  his  army  to  New  York, 
which  promised  to  be  the  new  scene  of  conflict. 
As  soon  as  he  arrived,  he  remonstrated  vigorously 
with  the  colonial  committee  of  safety  for  permitting 
the  intercourse  between  the  inhabitants  of  New 
York  and  the  British  on  board  their  ships.  "To 
tell  you,  gentlemen,  that  the  advantages  of  an  in 
tercourse  of  this  kind  are  altogether  on  the  side  of 

1  Washington,  "Writings,"  Sparks'  ed.,  Vol.  III.,  263. 

2  Onderdonk,  "  Revolutionary  Incidents  of  Long  Island,"  p.  52. 


OVERTHROW  OF  THE  LOYAL  STRONGHOLD.  127 

the  enemy,  whilst  we  derive  not  the  smallest  bene 
fit,"  1  is  obvious.  "  Even  the  enemy  themselves 
must  despise  us  for  suffering  it  to  be  continued." 
He  closed  his  appeal  by  showing  that  not  only 
supplies,  but  information,  were  thus  conveyed  to 
the  enemy.  The  committee  agreed  with  his  posi 
tion,  and  increased  their  efforts  to  prevent  the 
traffic. 

The  few  months,  between  the  time  of  the  arrival! 
of  Washington  in  New  York  and  the  coming  of  the! 
British  under  General  Howe,  were  months  of  terrorjj 
for  the  Loyalists.  Though  some  attempts  were] 
made  to  protect  them,  yet  they  inevitably  suffered( 
at  the  rough  hands  of  those  who  were  commissionec 
to  limit  their  power  to  aid  the  British.  Their  lot 
was  rendered  all  the  more  wretched  because  of  the 
discovery,  late  in  June,  of  a  glot  against  the  life  of 
Washington.  Leading  Tories  were  implicated,  and 
thus  discredit  was  thrown  upon  the  party.  The 
plot,  or  at  least  the  discovery,  was  a  great  mis 
fortune  for  the  Tories.  They  had  been  gaining 
adherents  among  those  who  wanted  to  go  no 
further  until  they  learned  what  the  "  conciliatory 
policy"  might  be,  which  had  been  heralded  as  the 
benevolent  mission  of  Lord  Howe.  Now,  the 
patriots  became  bolder,  and,  though  they  failed  to 
get  the  New  York  delegates  instructed  for  inde 
pendence  before  its  adoption  on  July  2d,  yet  they 
needed  but  a  week  more  of  agitation,  before  the 

1  Washington's  "Writings,"  Sparks'  ed.,  Vol.  III.,  357. 


128  THE  LOYALISTS- 

Declaration  was  formally  adopted  by  the  Provincial 
Congress. 

For  the   Loyalists,  there  now  came  the  darkest 
hour  before  the  dawn  — melancholy  dawn  as  it  was. 
When  Lord  Howe  came  and  landed  on  Staten  Is 
land  with  his  olive  branch,  it  was  discovered  that 
the  King's  benevolence  extended  only  to  granting 
pardon  to  all  who  would  desist  from  rebellion  and 
aid  in  restoring  peace.     Such  a  proposition,  at  this 
';  stage  of  the  war,  could  only  be  greeted  with  jeers  ; 
I  and  the  Tory  party  received  another  set-back.     But 
2"  for   a   time   their    misfortunes    were   ended.     The 
j  American  party  was  defeated  at  the  battle  of  Long 
!  Island ;  the  British  took  possession  of  New  York 
city,  and, 'at   last,  the  Tory  had  a  haven  of  refuge 
I  in  America.     The  tables  were   now  turned.     The 
'  Whigs  of  Long  Island  were  disarmed  and  compelled 
to  take   an  oath  of  allegiance.1     The    Tories  ex 
pressed    their   exultation  in  fulsome  addresses  to 
Lord  Howe,  full  of  joy  that  they  had  been  "  restored 
to  the  King's  most  gracious  protection."     From 
the  day  of  the  occupation  of  New  York  by  the 
British  army,  until  the  last  British  soldier  left  it,  in 
1783,  the  persecuted  Tories  had  a  sanctuary.     From 
every  colony  they  came  by  boat,  on  foot,  in  carri 
age  or  on  horse,  ready  to  thank  God  when  they  had 
passed  the  British  lines,  and  had  left  behind  them 
the  din  of  persecution. 

1 "  New  York  Colonial  MSS.,"  Vol.  VIII.,  693,  696,  697,  750, 
753.     Nearly  3,000  took  the  oath  directed  by  Tryon. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

THE    POLITICAL   SHIBBOLETH. 

AFTER  the  loss  of  New  York  and  the  dark  six 
months  of  almost  continual  defeat  for  the  patriot 
forces,  there  was  a  lull  in  the  aggressions  upon  the 
Loyalists.  The  Whigs  did  not  know  what  day 
might  bring  total  destruction  upon  their  cause,  and 
they  did  not  care  to  invite  retaliation  if  the  Tories 
should  come  once  more  into  power.  But,  when  the_ 
holidays  came  with  the  stirring  victorjies_at_Trentpn. 


and  Princeton,  the  Hearts  of  the  Whigs  beat  high 
with  courage,  and  they  attacked  their  internal 
memies  anew.  Washington  himself  began  the 
4rork  with  a  proclamation.  He  commanded  all 
Persons  who  had  accepted  Lord  Howe's  recent  offer 
of  protection,  either  to  retire  within  the  British  lines 
or  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States. 
This  simple  method  of  distinguishing  friend  from 
be  had  already  been  used  in  a  tentative  way,  but 
now  the  work  received  a  new  impetus. 

The  simplest  and  earliest  method  of  discrimina 
tion  was,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Association,1  a  docu- 

1  Association  implied  the  voluntary  assumption  of  an  obligation  to 
give  military  service  in  defense  of  a  principle,  and,  therefore,  met  with 

10  129 


130 


THE  LOYALISTS. 


ment  circulated  by  committees  and  signed  by  those 
who  approved  its  sentiments.  Now,  the  various 
state  legislatures  enacted  the  "  test  "  laws,  the  pur 
pose  of  which  was  to  compel  a  declaration  of  prin 
ciples  from  those  who  were  indifferent  or  who  were 
secret  enemies  of  the  revolution.  Political  friends 
must  be  distinguished  from  political  foes.  The 
facetious  proposition  of  a  Whig,  that  all  the  Tory 
houses  be  painted  black,  wrould  hardly  suffice.  The 
legislators  strove  to  prevent  a  neutral  attitude. 
They  sought  to  create  a  moral  ground  for  adherence 
to  the  patriot  cause.  However  unwillingly  the 
oath  of  allegiance  was  taken,  it  became  at  once  a 
factor  in  determining  the  action  of  the  person  taking 
the  oath.  For  those  who  had  taken  a  previous 
oath  to  Great  Britain  it  was  hoped  that  abjuration 
would  furnish  a  sort  of  moral  balm  to  relieve  the 
conscientious  scruples  against  the  Patriot  cause. 
iThe  main  purpose,  however,  of  the  machinery  of 
^discrimination  was  the  separation  of  the  political 
\chafffrom  the  political  wheat. 

In  the  several  colonies,  the  oath  demanded  by 
the  "  test  acts  "  varied  in  expression,  but  contained 
the  same  general  pledges.  Oaths  were  frequently 
couched  in  the  most  vigorous  phraseology.  Gen- 
opposition  from  men  who  were  peaceably  inclined.  Men,  who  were 
willing  to  give  moral  support,  would  not  engage  their  lives.  The 
legislators  now  saw  the  need  of  an  oath  of  allegiance  that  would 
foster  the  idea  of  responsibility  to  the  country.  The  "  test  laws  " 
were  enacted  to  accomplish  this  end,  as  well  as  to  perfect  a  system 
of  discrimination  between  Whig  and  Tory. 


THE  POLITICAL  SHIBBOLETH.  131 

eral  Lee  imposed  one  in  which  the  juror  "  as  he 
hoped  for  ease,  honor  and  comfort  in  this  world  and 
happiness  in  the  world  to  come,  most  earnestly,  de 
voutly  and  religiously  swore  ...  by  the  tremen 
dous  and  almighty  God,"  to  aid  the  American  cause 
and  fight  the  British.1  But  in  the  diluted  form,  as 
administered  by  the  civil  authorities,  it  did  not  thun 
der  so  much  in  the  index.  The  juror  simply  testi 
fied  and  declared  before  the  Everliving  God  and  the 
world  that  the  war  of  the  colonies  against  Great 
Britain  was  just  and  necessary.  He  promised  not 
to  aid  and  abet  the  forces  of  Great  Britain.  All 
plots  and  conspiracies  against  his  colony  he  would 
betray.  He  renounced  all  allegiance  and  obedience 
to  George  III.,  and  promised  faith  and  true  allegiance 
to  the  state  in  which  he  resided.2  In  the  test  acts 
passed  before  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  the 
oath  of  abjuration  and  allegiance  was  omitted. 

No  benevolent  despot  with  a  desire  for  unity  or 
regularity  of  action  existed  in  the  colonies.  As  a 
result  there  was  no  well  preserved  order  in  the 
evolution  of  the  test  acts.  With  some  exceptions, 
however,  the  earliest  test  acts  were  demands  for  an 
oath  of  allegiance  from  Government  officers.  Pro- 

1  Congress  disapproved  of  Lee's  test  oath,  and  Lee  wrote  to  Han 
cock  that  he  was  sorry  that  this  had  brought  down  such  "a  thunder 
ing  stygma  "  on  his  head,  and  vowed  that  he  hazarded  so  irregular 
a  measure  only  for  public  safety.     See  "  New  York  Historical  Society 
Papers,"  Lee  Papers,  Vol.  I.,  360. 

2  For  examples  see  "  Laws  of  Pennsylvania,"  June  13,  1777,  also 
"  Public  Records  of  the  State  of  Connecticut,"  Vol.  I.,  4. 


132  THE  LOYALISTS. 

fessional  men  were  next  brought  to  the  political 
touchstone.  Finally,  the  inquisition  was  extended 
to  all  free,  white,  male  citizens  above  the  age  of 
sixteen.1 

There  were  various  limitations  of  the  class  of 
persons  to  be  subjected  to  the  test.  Rhode  Island, 
New  Jersey,  South  Carolina  and  New  York  obliged 
all  who  were  suspected  of  being  inimical,  to  take 
the  oath.2  Those  who  had  levied  war  against  the 
United  States,  or  who  had  taken  an  oath  to  Great 
Britain,  were  offered  pardon,  in  Connecticut,  Dela 
ware,  Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  on  condition  of 
swearing  allegiance.  Travelers  were  made  a  special 
subject  of  inquiry  in  several  states.  Spies  were 
abroad  in  various  guises,  and  in  order  to  detect  them 
every  traveler  was  obliged  to  carry  a  certificate  that 
he  had  taken  the  test  oath.  The  Carolinas  com 
pelled  all,  who  had  held  commissions  under  the 
British  government  before  the  war,  to  swear  their 
affection  for  America.  This  was  supposed  to  ex 
tract  the  sanctity  of  the  previous  oath  to  which  the 
person  had  subscribed  on  taking  office  under  the 
British  crown.  It  was,  also,  a  way  of  probing  the 
consciences  of  people  who  came  naturally  under 
suspicion.  In  North  Carolina,  all  who  had  traded 
"  immediately  to  Great  Britain  or  Ireland  within 

Pennsylvania  and  Maryland  made  age  limit  1 8  years,  Delaware 
21.     In  New  York  the  order  of  attack  was  reversed. 
[       2  See  for  these  facts  and  the  sources  for  facts  in  general,  contained 
I  in  this  chapter,  the  table  of  the  test  laws  in  the  appendix.     As  facts 
I  and  generalizations  may  be  verified  there  I  shall  omit  footnotes. 


THE  POLITICAL  SHIBBOLETH.  133 

ten  years  last  past "  were  asked  to  take  the  "  test," 
on  the  supposition  that  such  persons  were  likely  to 
be  in  sympathy  with  the  British.  While  the  King's 
army  was  in  Philadelphia,  the  Pennsylvania  Assem 
bly  passed  a  law  making  all  who  traveled  out  of 
Philadelphia  or  the  county  of  their  residence  liable 
to  be  tendered  the  oath.  Men  who  were  living 
peaceably  with  the  hated  Briton  were  thought  to  be 
in  need  of  this  spiritual  prop. 

Several  states  made  certain  exemptions  from  the 
comprehensive  sweep  of  the  law.  Policy  usually 
dictated  these  exceptions,  though  in  several  cases 
they  were  necessary  in  order  to  get  the  laws  passed 
at  all.  In  Delaware  and  Maryland,  officers  and 
soldiers  in  the  pay  of  the  United  States  were  as 
sumed  to  have  given  enough  assurance  of  their 
fealty  to  the  new  government.  Pennsylvania  did, 
at  first,  exempt  delegates  in  Congress  and  mer 
chants  and  marines  coming  to  her  ports ;  but  later 
repented  the  exception  and  covered  their  cases 
fully.  Quakers,  Mennonites  and  Dunkers,  because 
of  their  religion,  were  generally  allowed  an  affirma 
tion  instead  of  an  oath. 

Even  the  privilege  of  taking  an  oath  was  denied 
to  some  who  had  outraged  the  Patriot  sensibilities 
by  overt  acts  of  hostility.  In  Massachusetts, 
refugees  to  Boston,  those  who  had  agreed  to  aid 
the  enemy,  and  the  members  of  the  Mandamus 
Council,  were  denied  the  privilege  of  the  oath  and, 
as  a  consequence,  the  rights  of  citizenship.  In 


1 34  THE  L  0  YA LISTS. 

other  instances  all  persons,  "  now  in  open  enmity," 
were  denied  the  comfort  of  the  oath,  though,  as  a 
rule,  the  conciliatory  policy  prevailed,  and  the  op 
portunity  was  open  to  all  who  repented. 

To  the  sympathizer  with  the  American  cause,  the 
oath  of  fidelity  was  only  a  slight  annoyance.  He 
received  a  visit  from  a  member  of  the  local  com 
mittee  of  correspondence,  or,  perhaps,  had  to  attend 
a  session  of  court  himself,  where  the  law  dictated 
that  the  oath  was  to  be  taken.  The  discomfort 
lay  only  in  the  extra  exertion.  Even  the  indiffer 
ent  persons  were  likely  to  take  it  in  the  spirit  of 
the  poet,  whose  philosophy  was  better  than  his 
verse. 

"  When  penal  laws  were  passed  by  vote 

I  thought  the  test  a  grievance, 
Yet  sooner  than  I'd  lose  a  groat, 
I  swore  the  state  allegiance. ' ' 1 

j 

^>  JBut,  for  the  Loyalist,  it  was  the  beginning  of  perse- 
^  (cution  by  the  state,  If  he  attended  the  town  meet 
ing  of  the  eastern  states,  the  law  was  read  and  all 
were  urged  to  take  the  oath.  The  minister  an 
nounced  the  new  test  from  the  pulpit.  From  the 
steps  of  every  Virginia  or  North  Carolina  court 
house  the  sheriff  read  the  law  at  the  gathering  of 
the  people.  At  every  muster  of  militia  in  South 
Carolina  the  captain  proclaimed  the  act  and  made 
sure  of  its  execution.  Throughout  the  length  and 

l" Loyalist  Poetry,"  p.  65. 


THE  POLITICAL  SHIBBOLETH.  135 

breadth  of  the  land,  the  newspapers  notified  the 
people  that  the  winnowing  process  was  to  be  com 
pleted.  In  the  little  state  of  Rhode  Island,  even 
the  members  of  the  upper  and  lower  houses  of  the 
legislature  were  pressed  into  service,  and  obliged, 
personally,  to  tender  the  oath  to  all  "suspects." 

In  most  of  the  colonies,  the  Justice  of  the  Peace 
administered  the  political  shibboleth.  Sometimes, 
he  wrote  the  oath  on  parchment,  announced  a  place 
where  he  could  be  found,  and  the  signers  became 
their  own  recorders.  In  other  states,  the  signing 
was  done  in  the  courts  of  record.1  Careful  registers 
of  the  "jurors"  were  kept,  and  a  certificate  was 
given  them  which  read  :  "  I  do  hereby  certify  that 

hath  voluntarily  taken  and  subscribed  the  oath 

or  affirmation  of  allegiance  and  fidelity,  as  directed."2 

(Without  such  a  certificate  no  traveler  was  safe 
from  arrest ;  no  suspected  British  sympathizer  was 
safe  from  annoyance  and  persecution. 

In  Massachusetts,  if  a  member  of  the  Council  or 
House,  a  selectman,  a  military  or  civil  officer,  or  a 
member  of  a  committee  of  correspondence  sus 
pected  any  citizen,  he  reported  the  "  suspect  "  to  the 
justice  of  the  peace.  The  latter  summoned  the 

1  Commissioners  were  sometimes  appointed  in  various  districts  of 
the  state,  and  they  announced  days  when  they  would  meet  the  public. 

2  Where  the  offering  of  the  oath  was  considered  as  an  act  of  grace 
a  goodly  fee  was   exacted.       In  Delaware,  the  refugee   who  took 
advantage  of  the  act  of  pardon  paid  the  justice  of  the  peace  five  shil 
lings  for  administering  the  oath,  and  the  Governor  took  30  shillings 
more  for  a  certificate. 


136  THE  LOYALISTS. 

proscribed  man,  gave  him  two  hours  to  decide 
whether  he  would  sign  or  not,  and  then,  upon 
reftfsal,  cast  him  into  jail.  All  the  fees  and  cost  of 
maintenance  in  jail  came  out  of  the  estate  of  the 
delinquent.  An  analogous  process  was  followed  in 
other  states,  differing  only  in  the  agents  employed 
and  the  time  allowed  for  decision.  The  militia  was 
often  employed  to  execute  the  test  laws  or  procla 
mations.  Ignorant  and  brutal  men  were  too  often 
employed  upon  this  business.  Isaac  Sears  wrote 
General  Lee  that  he  ''tendered  the  oath  to  four  of 
the  grate  Tories  which  they  swallowed  as  hard  as 
if  it  was  a  four  pound  shot,  that  they  were  trying 
to  git  down."  Again,  he  had  "ben  able  to  ketch 
but  five  Torries,  and  they  of  the  first  rank,  which 
swallowed  the  oath."  He  could  not  "  ketch  many 
without  hosses  to  rid  after  them." 

Every  test  act  mentioned  some  date,  several 
;  months  in  advance,  after  which  all  who  had  not 
jtaken  the  oath  would  be  treated  as  if  they  had 
'refused  it.  In  some  cases,  the  person  refusing  the 
oath  was  bound  over  to  the  next  term  of  court  to 
be  tried  for  his  offence ;  but,  in  general,  the  offence 
was  established  by  the  refusal,  and  the  penalties  fol 
lowed.  Political,  legal,  and  civil  disabilities  were 
invariable  results  of  refusal,  unless  the  offender 
could  get  sureties  heavily  bonded.  Disarming, 
imprisonment,  special  taxation  and  confiscation  of 
property  were  penalties  suffered  in  various  states. 

1  Onderdonk,  "  Revolutionary  Incidents  of  Long  Island." 


THE  POLITICAL  SHIBBOLETH.  137 

Banishment,  temporary  or  permanent,  was  reserved 
usually  for  those,  who,  having  fled  to  the  British 
lines,  refused  the  offer  of  pardon  which  was  to  be 
granted  on  condition  of  taking  an  oath. 

In  the  midst  of  alarms  and  civil  war,  it  is  natural 
that  these  test  acts  were  not  always  administered  in 
the  correct  and  equitable  way  that  the  legislators  may 
have  wished.  Over-zealous  agents  of  committees 
often  hurried  the  non-jurors,  quite  ignominiously, 
before  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and,  as  the  loyalists 
expressed  it,  "  forced  the  oath  down  their  throats." 
In  some  cases,  the  justice  was  paid  a  stated  fee  for 
every  oath  administered  ;  and  the  fee  had  an  effect 
like  that  of  offering  a  bounty  on  wolves'  heads.  The 
justices  hunted  for  them,  coaxed  and  threatened 
them  and  almost  herded  them. 

Personal  spite  had,  no  doubt,  only  too  great  an 
influence  in  deciding  the  action  of  certain  officials. 
One  of  many  hundreds  of  credible  stories  will  serve 
for  an  illustration.  John  Dunn,  under  oath  "  on 
the  Holy  Evangelists,"  relates  the  enmity  existing 
between  him  and  a  certain  patriot,  who  had  missed 
being  elected  a  delegate  because  of  Dunn's  efforts. 
Shortly  after,  Dunn  was  at  home  recovering  from  a 
fit  of  sickness,  when  a  number  of  armed  men  entered 
his  house.  They  seized  him  and  forced  him  away 
to  one  Louis  Coffee's  house.  Soon,  another  Loyal 
ist  was  conducted  to  the  same  place.  A  patriot 
attorney-at-law  arrived  upon  the  scene,  and  when  he 
was  asked  why  they  were  restrained  and  by  what 


138  THE  LOYALISTS. 

authority,  replied  that  it  was  the  desire  of  some 
gentlemen  to  the  southward  to  examine  them  with 
regard  to  their  political  sentiments.  After  some 
delay,  two  men,  who  were  first  sworn  to  secrecy 
and  fidelity,  led  the  prisoners  away.  Upon  reaching 
the  house,  where  the  guards  said  that  the  prisoners 
were  to  meet  their  inquisitors,  there  was  a  long  delay. 
Some  friends  of  the  prisoners  offered  to  go  surety  for 
their  appearance  before  the  committeemen,  but  all  to 
no  purpose.  Then  a  messenger  was  sent  off,  and  re 
turned  soon  with  thirty  or  forty  armed  men.  This 
guard  escorted  the  victims  to  the  court-house.  But, 
instead  of  being  met  by  the  committeemen,  they 
were  carried  off  next  day,  by  a  guard  of  sixty  horse 
men,  to  another  state,  and  thrown  into  jail.  There 
they  remained  nine  months  without  even  a  trial. 
Dunn  attributed  all  this  to  the  "  pernicious  and 
wicked  designs  of  the  man  whose  ambitions  he  had 
foiled." 

The  best  testimony  of  the  difficulty  of  carrying 
out  the  test  acts  lies  in  the  statute  books  themselves. 
In  nearly  every  case,  the  test  act  was  followed  by 
frequent  laws  "for  the  relief  of  non-jurors,"  or 
extending  the  limit  of  time  for  taking  the  oath. 
Eisrht  or  ten  extensions  of  the  time  were  not  un- 

o 

common.  Then  there  were  laws  excusing  those 
who  had  been  sick  or  absent,  and  prolonging  the 
time  limit  for  their  benefit.  These  rapid  legislative 
somersaults  did  not  escape  the  Loyalist's  wit.  The 
epithet  of  a  "  heated  body  with  a  hot  head  "  was 


THE  POLITICAL  SHIBBOLETH.  i^ 

applied  not  without  point  to  the  executive  council 
of  Pennsylvania.  A  very  small  proportion  of  the 
people  of  that  state  signed  the  oath  submitted  to 
them.1 

Individuals  conjured  up  the  most  motley  array 
of  excuses.  One  had  been  out  of  the  countiy  dur 
ing  the  time  in  which  the  oath  was  to  be  taken  ; 
another  had  been  sick,  and  a  third  had  been  unable 
to  read  the  proclamation  of  the  law.  Where  the 
local  committees  were  unable  to  pardon  them,  a 
special  act  of  the  legislature  gave  the  relief.  Many 
undoubted  patriots  refused  the  oath.  They  urged 
that  it  was  an  indignity,  after  the  sacrifices  they  had 
made  for  the  cause.  Soldiers  and  Continental  offi 
cers,  especially  manifested  their  indignation,  and  a 
revision  of  the  law  often  recognized  the  justice  of 
their  protest.  Loyalists  with  many  personal  friends 
succeeded  in  certain  localities  in  getting  so  many  to 
refuse  to  sign,  as  to  destroy  the  force  of  the  law. 
Each  pleaded  that  others  did  not  sign,  why  should 
he  ? 2  Thus  the  Loyalist  at  heart  evaded  a  declara 
tion  of  his  principles. 

The  laws  enacted  to  reinforce  the  test  laws 
threatened  with  heavy  fines  the  inspector  of  elec 
tion,  sheriff  or  justice  of  peace  who  failed  to  do  his 
duty  in  making  the  test  acts  effective.  Yet  the 
best  intentions  were  futile,  when  directed  at  the  en 
forcing  of  a  law  which  offered  so  fair  an  opportunity 

1  See  "  Pennsylvania  Archives,"  Vol.  III.,  6  et  seq. 

*  "  Records  of  the  Colony  of  Rhode  Island,"  Vol.  III.,  595. 


1 40  THE  L  O  YA LISTS. 

for  cunning  evasion.  At  every  attempt  to  enforce 
the  law,  thousands  fled  to  avoid  taking^  the  oajh_of 
fidelity  to  a*  state  whose  very  existencethey  did  not 
acknowledge.  Many  swore  their  allegiance  reck 
lessly  taking  refuge  in  the  philosophy  of  theTcom- 
forting  couplet — 

"  The  imposer  of  the  oath  'tis  breaks  it ; 
Not  he  who  for  convenience  takes  it."  } 

As  a  parodist  of  the  time  expressed  it :  "  The  dread 
of  something  after  flight  .  .  .  puzzles  the  will ;  and 
makes  ten  thousands  rather  sign  and  eat,  than  fly — 
to  starve  on  loyalty," 

The  folly  of  the  test  laws  was  pointed  out  even 

by  the  most  rampant  Whigs.     In  a  tirade  against 

'  Tories,  a  newspaper  scribbler  expressed  a  common 

criticism.     The  Tories  ought  to  be  banished,  but, 

he  complained,   "they  have  taken    oaths_and are 


under  the  protection  of  the  laws.     Some  of  these 


miscreants,  'tis  true,  have  put  on  a  sham  repentance 
and  have  dared  to  call  the  Almighty  to  witness 
their  perjuries,  they  take  the  oaths  one  day,  and 
break  them  the  next.  Do  they  not  tell  you,  to 
your  faces,  that  no  faith  is  to  be  kept  with  the 
rebels  .  .  .  ?  Are  men  who  act  on  principles  like 
these  to  be  trusted?"  There  is  much  proof  that 
the  reputed  Tory  was  no  more  tolerated,  socially, 
after  he  had  taken  the  oath  than  before. 

1  "American  Archives,"  series  4,  Vol.  I.,  720. 


THE  POLITICAL  SHIBBOLETH.  141 

With  every  change  in  the  fortunes  of  war,  the  for 
tunes  of  the  test  acts  wavered.  At  the  time  of  the 
successful  defence  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  we 
learn  that  "the  Tories  flocked  to  sign  the  tests," 
but  when  "  the  Sun  of  Liberty  was  almost  obscured  " 
the  oath  administering  business  of  the  justice  of 
the  peace  was  very  dull. 

Besides  the  civil  action,  the  military  commanders 
on  either  side  issued  proclamations,  as  we  have 
seen,  urging  or  demanding  an  oath.  Sir  William 
Howe,  while  in  New  Jersey,  offered  pardon  to  all 
such  of  the  inhabitants  as  would  come  in  and  take 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  crown,  with  a  promise 
to  protect  them  in  their  persons  and  property. 
This  was  followed,  to  quote  the  New  York  Gazette, 
by  a  proclamation  of  the  "  Lord  Protector,  Mr. 
George  Washington."  He  said  that,  in  some  in 
stances,  the  British  had  compelled  men  to  take  an 
oath  of  allegiance  to  the  King.1  In  retaliation,  he 
commanded  every  person,  having  subscribed  such  a 
declaration,  to  deliver  up  his  certificate  at  the  quar 
ters  of  some  Continental  army  officer  and  take  the 
oath  to  the  United  States.  He,  however,  permitted 
those  who  preferred  the  protection  of  Great  Britain 
to  retire  with  their  families  within  the  British  lines. 
The  loyal  critic  of  this  proclamation  said  that  he 
could  not  read  it  without  pity  and  astonishment. 
That  Mr.  Washington,  who  once  was  esteemed  a 

!This  was  very  true.     See  the  proofs  in  Onderdonk,  "  Revolu 
tionary  Incidents  of  Long  Island,"  Vol.  I.,  132-252. 


142  THE   LOYALISTS. 

gentleman  should  be  so  contaminated  by  the  vice 
of  his  associates  as  to  lose  all  regard  to  the  common 
forms  of  morality  was  not  to  have  been  expected. 
The  critic  thought  that  the  Proclamation  might  be 
styled  a  proclamation  for  the  encouragement  of 
perjury.  It  commanded  an  oath  that  destroyed  an 
oath.  "  Such  impious  disregard,  such  a  flagrant 
violation  of  all  that  is  serious  and  sacred  among 
men,  has  rarely  been  seen  in  any  age,  country  or 
profession."  But,  naturally,  he  "who  can  call  the 
gentle  Government  of  Britain  '  tyranny  '  can  become 
the  most  insolent  and  outrageous  tyrant  himself." 

Criticisms  of  the  test  laws  and  their  makers  are 
common  and  severe  in  all  loyalist  literature.  James 
Allen,  of  Pennsylvania,  one  of  the  mildest  of  loyal 
ists,  wrote  in  his  diary,1  "  Our  Assembly  have  at 
length  in  their  wisdom,  prepared  a  test  act  obliging 
all  to  vow  allegiance  to  the  state  and  abjure  the 
King  ;  the  penalty  is,  being  in  effect  outlawed.  .  .  . 
But  it  is  little  regarded,  like  the  rest  of  their  laws. 
They  are,  indeed,  a  wretched  set.  This  convulsion 
has,  indeed,  brought  all  the  dregs  to  the  top."  2 

Peter  Van  Schaak,  a  moderate  Loyalist,  who  was 
thoroughly  in  sympathy  with  American  political 
institutions,  but  who,  by  the  extreme  measures  of 
the  Whigs,  was  forced  into  exile,  arraigned  the  test 
laws  in  a  very  calm  and  thoughtful  paper.  He 
argued  that  the  tendering  of  an  oath  in  a  matter 

'July  2,  1777. 

2  Pennsylvania  Magazine,  Vol.  IX.,  285. 


THE  POLITICAL  SHIBBOLETH.  143 

of  opinion,  under  the  penalty  of  banishment  or 
confiscation,  was  a  severe  attack  on  the  weakness  of 
human  nature.  Duty  to  God  and  affection  to  an 
innocent  family  were  brought  into  conflict.  In  such 
a  struggle  even  a  good  man  might  sink  under  the 
weight  of  trial.  He  had  understood  that  an  oath, 
repugnant  to  a  duty  previously  existing,  could  not 
be  obligatory.  As  to  the  expediency  of  offering 
such  an  oath,  he  gravely  doubted  it.  He  thought 
that  it  actually  did  harm,  because  it  is  sometimes 
dangerous  to  probe  a  wound  too  deeply.  Men  who 
would  do  no  harm  if  undisturbed  woulu  become 
implacable  enemies,  if  brought  to  bay  by  such  a 
measure.  "  Had  you,"  he  continued,  addressing 
the  Whigs,  "  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  permitted 
every  one  differing  in  sentiment  from  you,  to  take 
the  other  side,  or  at  least  to  have  removed  out  of 
the  State,  with  their  property  ...  it  would  have 
been  a  conduct  magnanimous  and  just.  But,  now, 
after  restraining  those  persons  from  removing  ;  pun 
ishing  them,  if,  in  the  attempt,  they  were  appre 
hended  ;  selling  their  estates  if  they  escaped  ;  com 
pelling  them  to  the  duties  of  subjects  under  heavy 
penalties  ; l  deriving  aid  from  them  in  the  prosecu 
tion  of  the  war  .  .  .  now  to  compel  them  to  take 
an  oath  "  is  an  act  of  severity.  It  was  said  that  a 
choice  was  now  given  them.  Yes,  "the  galley 

1  Referring  to  the  compulsory  militia  service. 


144  THE  LOYALISTS. 

slave  too   has  a  choice,  for  he  has  full  liberty  to 
prefer  the  oar  or  the  lash."  l 

In  the  preambles,  the  legislators  justified  the  test 
laws.  From  their  point  of  view  a  new  state  had  been 
established.  Everyone  had  had  time  to  determine 
whether  he  would  be  an  American  or  British  sub 
ject.  In  all  states,  protection  and  allegiance  are, 
and  ought  to  be,  reciprocal,  and  those  who  will  not 
bear  the  latter  are  not  entitled  to  the  benefits  of  the 
former.  As  a  war  measure,  the  sympathizers  with 
Great  Britain  must  be  treated  as  enemies  of  the 
state.  It  is  impossible  to  be  certain  of  an  individ 
ual's  neutrality,  and  men  cannot  be  sheltered  under 
a  government  which  they  are  trying  to  subvert. 
Men  have,  they  argued,  affected  to  maintain  a  neu 
trality,  but  there  is  reason  to  suspect  that  it  was  in 
many  cases  dictated  by  a  poverty  of  spirit  and  an 
undue  attachment  to  property.  Others  advocated 
the  American  cause  until  it  became  serious.  Then 
"  ungratefully  and  insidiously  ...  by  artful  mis- 
fepresentations  and  subtle  dissemination  ...  of 
fears  .  .  .  they  seduced  certain  weak-minded  per 
sons."  The  internal  enemy  in  the  guise  of  a  neu 
tral  was  felt  to  be  quite  as  dangerous  as  an  out- 
and-out  traitor.  We  can  hardly  deny  that  each, 
Loyalist  and  Patriot,  from  his  own  point  of  view 
was  right.  The  Loyalist  might  urge  with  all  hon 
esty  that  the  test  laws  were  due  to  political  bigotry, 

^ee  the  whole  argument  p.  113  et  seq.,  "Life  of  Peter  Van 
Schaak." 


THE  POLITICAL  SHIBBOLETH.  145 

because  for  him  no  new  state  existed,  and  Whig  and 
Tory  were  only  political  parties.      For  the  Patriot 
the  political  struggle   was  over,  and  a  new  state, 
created  by  the  Whig,  had  the  sovereign  right  to 
take  the  measures  necessary  for  its   preservation. 
The  military  necessity  of  measures   like   these  is""|j  I 
made  quite  evident,  when  we  consider  the  activity  jj 
of  the  Tories,  as  we  shall  in  the  next  chapter.       _Jl  ' 


CHAPTER  VII. 

TRYING    TO    PRESERVE    THE    UNION. 

THE  arrival  of  Howe,  as  we  have  seen,  and  the 
occupation  of  New  York  was  an  occasion  of  great 
joy  for  the  Loyalists.  Some  of  them  immediately 
joined  the  British  army ;  but  the  great  majority 
merely  settled  down  contentedly  under  the  kindly 
protection  of  the  British  arms,  and  contemplated 
with  satisfaction  the  prospect  of  immediate  "  peace 
and  union  with  the  parent  state."  In  spite  of  the 
series  of  successes  that  attended  the  British  arms, 
however,  the  hour  of  complete  triumph  seemed  dis- 
couragingly  deferred. 

This  inactive  mass  of  men  constantly  grew  in  size 
and  in  hopeless  dependence  upon  the  chanty  of  the 
i  British.  Those  who  reached  New  York,  after  escap 
ing  the  persecutions  of  the  Whigs,  brought  with 
them  little  more  than  their  clothes  and  a  small  sum 
of  money.  As  the  months  passed  and  the  war 
seemed  no  nearer  an  end,  these  destitute  refugees, 
men  of  every  social  rank,  grew  more  and  more  im 
portunate.  The  influential  men  often  succeeded  in 
getting  some  dignified  employment  within  the  Brit 
ish  military  system  ;  but  there  was  a  far  larger  class 

146 


TRYING  TO  PRESERVE  THE  UNION.         147 

who  found  themselves  in  the  direst  need.  Of  these, 
many  would  gladly  have  taken  up  arms  and  a 
soldier's  life,  but  were  deterred  by  the  lack  of  en 
couragement.  The  British  clung  stubbornly  to  the 
idea  that  these  provincials  could  not  fight,  and  only 
encouraged  their  services  in  the  regular  army,  where 
they  might  be  trained  by  British  officers.  It  took 
several  years  to  recognize  their  value  as  provincial 
militia.  The  expectation  that  the  hour  of  complete 
victory  was  imminent  acted  also  to  prevent  the  early 
enlistment  of  the  Loyalists,  because  there  was  no 
wish  to  embitter  their  relations  with  the  "  rebels  " 
with  whom  they  would  soon  return  to  live. 

The  plight  of  these  men  soon  drew  the  attention 
of  the  British  authorities,  and  plans  for  their  employ 
ment  were  matured.  Large  numbers  were  made 
of  service  as  sappers  for  the  army.  As  soon  as  the 
Whigs  outside  of  New  York  learned  of  this  undigni 
fied  employment,  their  satirical  writers  seized  upon 
the  theme,  and  embellished  it  for  sympathetic  read 
ers.  One  of  the  bitterest  gibes  was  that  of  a  Whig 
poet  who  summed  up  the  whole  situation  with 
malicious  courtesy  : l 

"Come,  gentlemen  Tories,  firm,  loyal  and  true, 
Here  are  axes  and  shovels  and  something  to  do  ! 
For  the  sake  of  our  king, 
Come  labor  and  sing." 

^'Historical  View  of  the  American  Revolution,"  by  G.  W. 
Greene,  p.  430. 


148  THE  LOYALISTS. 

The  poet  suggests  that  the  King  will  remember 
the  suffering  Tory,  and  though  there  is,  it  is  true, 
some  work  to  be  done,  yet  it  shall  be  paid  for  at 
twelve  coppers  a  day.  He  urges  them  to  throw  off 
their  jerkins  and  build  the  ramparts  and  walls,  and 
pull  down  old  houses.  All  day  they  must  work  at 
fortifications,  and  at  night  they  may  steal  their  food 
from  the  rebels.  The  forts  must  be  built,  the  writer 
comments,  even  though  Tories  are  slain ;  but  they 
must  not  have  long  faces,  for  the  events  of  the  year 
will  alter  their  circumstances  and,  anyway,  after  they 
are  dead  their  names  shall  be  read, 

"  As  who  for  their  monarch  both  labored  and  bled, 
And  ventured  their  necks  for  their  beef  and  their  bread." 

Thus,  with  mock  encouragement,  they  were  urged 
to  scour  up  their  mortars  and  work  for  their  king, 
for,  if  they  failed  to  save  New  York,  they  would 
probably  be  hung.1 

The  subject  lent  itself  to  ridicule,  yet  it  was,  of 

course,  creditable  to  the  Loyalists  that  they,  as  a 

rule,   preferred    any    labor    rather   than    becoming 

mere  objects   of  charity.     They  never  showed   a 

lack  of  courage  in  doing  what  they  were  permitted 

j  to  do.     They  were  ready  to  go  as  [spiel  into  the 

I  country  held  by  the  patriots,  and  were  frequently 

sent  to  sow  sedition  or  to  proselyte  among  their 

1  For  more  sober  testimony  as  to  this  employment  of  the  Loyalist, 
see  "Valentine's  Manual  of  the  Corporation  of  the  City  of  New 
York,"  1863,  p.  653,  and  Rivingtorf s  Gazette,  June  3,  1780,  and 
"Clinton  Papers,"  Vol.  I.,  629. 


TRYING  TO  PRESERVE  THE  UNION.         149 

old  friends  and  neighbors.  Washington  repeatedly 
complained  of  the  "  diabolical  and  insidious  arts 
and  schemes  carried  on  by  the  Tories  to  raise  dis 
trust,  dissensions  and  divisions  among  us."  He 
even  recommended  that  the  granting  of  traveling- 
permits  cease  entirely,  because  it  settled  "  a  channel 
of  correspondence  with  the  disaffected."  l  The  ex 
tent  of  their  services  in  this  direction  even  drew  the 
attention  of  Congress.  Every  state  was  advised  to 
seize  all  suspected  emissaries  and  abettors  of  General 
Howe,  who  were  dispersed  through  the  United 
States,  "  under  various  pretenses  of  amusement 
and  business,  whereby  they  are  enabled  to  spread 
disaffection,  intimidate  the  people  by  false  news,  and 
depreciate  the  currency  of  the  United  States."  2  A 
patriot  merchant,  however,  put  a  different  interpre 
tation  on  the  danger  of  allowing  freedom  to  Tory 
travelers.  He  declared  that  in  the  guise  of  pedlars 
they  escaped  registration  in  the  militia  rolls.  They 
escaped  taxes,  sold  at  exorbitant  prices,  and  were, 
the  writer  declared,  "  the  harpies  of  trade,"  "cater 
pillars  allowed  to  hang  on  the  branches  of  com 
merce." 

Not  only  the  Tories  who  actually  went  out  from 

the  British  lines,  but  the  large  number  of  secret 

Tories  still  living  among  the  Whigs  in  the  neighbor- 

l  ing  states,  were  of  great  service  to  the  British, 

i Washington's  "Writings,"  Sparks'  ed.,  Vol.  III.,  396. 
2  "  Journals  of  Congress,"  Vol.  III.,  December  20,  1777.     Phila 
delphia,  1800. 


15°  THE   LOYALISTS. 

Every  facility  of  the  surrounding  country  was  at 
the  beck  of  Brit,  h  gold.  Powder  was  stolen  from 
the  American  magazines  ;  the  stores  of  salt  were 
broken  open  and  robbed ;  the  millers  smuggled 
flour  to  the  British  when  they  had  none  for  Wash 
ington's  "starvelings,"  and  horses  were  sent  in 
droves  to  the  British  lines  where  the  prices  fairly 
compensated  the  risk.1  New  Jersey,  Delaware, 
Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island  found  it  necessary 
to  threaten  the  most  terrible  penalties  against  those 
who  piloted  the  British  vessels  or  gave  them  infor 
mation,2  or  sold  them  provisions.3  A  proclamation 
to  this  effect  by  Gov.  Livingston,  of  New  Jersey, 
was  ridiculed  by  the  Tory  press  in  New  York.  It 
was  all  very  well,  they  sneered,  for  this  Whig  despot, 
this  "  knight  of  the  most  honorable  order  of  starva 
tion,"  to  talk  of  the  traitorous  practice  of  selling 
provisions  to  the  enemy  for  solid  coin,  "  the  mam 
mon  of  unrighteousness";  but  a  "boundless  aver 
sion  to  rag-money"  was  quite  natural.4  The 
newspaper  wit  went  straight  to  the  heart  of  the 
problem.  It  mattered  not  so  much  to  these  shrewd 
Yankee  farmers  whether  their  political  principles 

Stevens'  "Facsimiles,"  p.   2068. 

2  Congress  appointed  a  Special  Committee  to  look  into  this  evil. 
'  'Journal  of  Congress,"  Vol.  IV.,  June  17,  1778. 

»  "Colonial  Records  of  Connecticut,"  Vol.  XV.,  179.  "  Session 
Laws  of  Delaware,  May  20,  1778."  "Public  Records  of  Connec 
ticut/"  Vol.  I.,  528.  "Records  of  Rhode  Island,"  Vol.  VII., 
388. 

tRivington's  Gazette,  October  14,  1778. 


TRYING  TO  PRESERVE  THE  UNION.        151 

1  f 

were  satisfied,  if,  only,  their  purses  did  not  suffer.  J 

It  is  hardly  a  fair  measure  of  the  political  sympathy 
of  a  colony  to  ascertain  the  amount  of  aid  given  by 
its  people  to  the  British.  The  aid  given  them 
measured  rather  the  difference  between  British  gold 
and  American  paper  money,  and  the  opportunity 
to  exchange  commodities  for  the  former. 

One  of  the  greatest  services  done  the  British 
cause  by  the  Tories  was  their  effort  to  depreciate 
the  Continental  currency.  They  aided  the  perfectly 
natural  tendency  not  only  by  refusing- T  when  they 
dared,  to  accept  it,  but  by  counterfeiting  it  or  cir 
culating  the  counterfeits  made  within  the  British 
lines.  Advertisements  appeared  from  time  to  time 
in  the  Tory  newspapers,  announcing  that  persons 
going  out  into  the  colonies  might  receive  large  sums 
of  Continental  paper  money  by  merely  paying  the 
price  of  the  paper  and  printing.  Besides  circulat 
ing  the  counterfeits,  the  Tories  took  every  oppor 
tunity  of  ridiculing  the  "  pasteboard  dollars"  x'and 
threatening  all  who  accepted  them.  It  was  regarded 
as  a  huge  joke  when  a  Connecticut  parson  was 
seized  and  compelled  to  chew  up  the  paper  money 
which  he  had  on  his  person.  Rivington,  the  Tory 
printer,  gave  many  columns  of  his  paper  to  the 
discussion  of  the  financial  straits  of  the  Americans  ; 
and  these  columns  were  delectable  reading  for  the 
Loyalists  who  were  anxiously  awaiting  the  down 
fall  of  "  congressional  tyranny."  Yet,  in  spite  of 

Moore's  "Diary  of  the  American  Revolution,"  Vol.  I.,  414. 


152  THE   LOYALISTS. 

all  the  efforts  of  the  Tories  to  hurt  the  American 
money,  they  could  hardly  do  as  much  damage  as 
the  insane  laws  recommended  by  Congress,  which, 
as  a  Tory  declared,  "  would  have  depreciated  the 
gold  of  Ophir." 

The  most  effective  service  given  the  British  by 
the  Tories  was  the  active  proselyting,  carried  on 
throughout  the  war,  among  the  great  class  of  half 
hearted  Americans  who  were  ready  to  go  into  the 
arms  of  either  combatant  that  seemed  for  the  mo 
ment  the  probable  victor.  They  were  Tory  emis-' 
saries  who  carried,  among  the  people  of  New  Jersey 
and  other  neighboring  States,  the  broadsides  pro 
claiming  Lord  Howe's  offer  of  pardon  to  those  who 
would  take  an  oath  of  allegiance.  They  promul 
gated  Lord  North's  belated  repeal  of  all  the  obnox 
ious  laws 2  which  had  been  the  immediate  cause  of 
the  revolution.  The  almost  contemporaneous  treaty 
with  France,  which,  to  those  wholly  in  sympathy 
with  the  Revolution,  seemed  the  most  desirable  of 
all  consummations,  was  regarded  with  horror  by 
the  Tories  ;  and  they  tried  to  communicate  their 
views  to  the  wavering  and  uncertain  people  in  the 
.states. 

The  French  alliance  was,  in  fact,  a  terrible  blow 
'to  the  Tory  hopes,  and  was  quite  as  much  of  a 
shock  to  their  ideas  of  international  affinities.  Can 
the  "  tiger  and  the  ox  feed  at  one  stall,  or  the  lion 

^•Rivingtorfs  Gazette,  May  23,  1781. 
2  February  17,  1778. 


TRYING  TO  PRESERVE  THE  UNION.         153 

\ 

and  the  lamb  lie  down  together  ?  "      They  asserted 

their  utter  inability  to  understand  the  exultation  of 
Congress  and  its  friends  over  such  an  alliance.  It 
seemed  like  the  madness  of  the  poor  Trojans  who 
pulled  down  their  walls  and  dragged  in  the  wooden 
horse.  The  French  alliance  would  bring  the  Amer 
icans  just  such  speedy  and  inevitable  ruin.2  There 
were  dark  hints  about  secret  clauses  of  the  treaty, 
in  which  Congress  had  ceded  part  of  America  to 
France.  At  one  time  it  was  positively  asserted 
that  Rhode  Island,  with  Narragansett  and  sundry 
islands,  had  been  ceded  to  America's  new  "  guardian 
of  liberty,  Louis  the  King."  A  significant  story 
gained  credence  that,  when  Gerard,  the  French 
minister,  landed,  he  received  a  piece  of  turf,  sym 
bolic  that  he  was  given  possession  of  the  land.4 
The  meeting  of  Gerard  with  Congress  was  satirized 
in  prose  and  rhyme.5 

1  Moore's  "Diary,"  Vol.  II.,  145. 

*  Rivingtoris  Gazette,  July  13,  1782. 

*  Rivington1  s  Gazette,  August  23,  1782. 

*  Rivingtorfs  Gazette,  July  29,  1778. 

5  One  of  the  best  productions  was  the  well-known, 

' '  From  Lewis,  Monsieur  Gerard  came, 

To  Congress  in  this  town,  sir. 
They  bowed  to  him,  and  he  to  them 

And  then  they  all  sat  down,  sir. 
Begar,  said  Monsieur,  one  grand  coup 

You  shall  bientot,  behold,  sir. 
This  was  believed  as  gospel  true, 
And  Jonathan  felt  bold,  sir,"  etc. 

See  Rivingtorf  s  Gazette,  October  3,    1778. 


154  THE   LOYALISTS. 

The  most  vulnerable  point  of  attack  on  the  French 
alliance  was  the  fact  that  the  ally  was  Catholic. 
The  Tories  declared  that  Congress  adopted  all  sorts' 
of  Romish  mummery.  Loyal  newspapers  printed 
the  most  absurd  canards  announcing  that  the  French 
king  was  preparing  a  fleet  which  should  come  to 
America  and  convert  his  new  subjects.  Some  of 
the  vessels  were  laden  with  tons  of  holy  water  and 
casks  of  consecrated  oil.  A  thousand  chests  of 
reliques,  beads  and  crucifixes  were  ready,  and  a 
vast  number  of  crape  shifts,  hair  shirts,  cowls  and 
scourges.  Another  vessel  contained  many  thou 
sand  consecrated  wafers,  crucifixes,  rosaries  and  mass 
books  as  well  as  bales  of  indulgences.  To  provide 
for  the  conversion  of  heretics  of  whom  America  had 
many,  the  good  king  had  not  forgotten  the  neces 
sary  equipment  of  wheels,  hooks,  pincers,  shackles 
and  fire  brands.  To  instruct  the  Americans  in  the 
use  of  these  pious  instruments,  there  was  ready  an 
army  of  priests,  confessors  and  mendicants.  Fin 
ally  it  had  been  reliably  reported  that  Dr.  Franklin 
had  been  decorated  with  the  order  of  the  holy  cross 
of  Jerusalem.1 

1  Rivingtorfs  Gazette,  October  7,  1778,  and  January  29,  1780. 
A  popular  verse  draws  the  same  picture. 

"The  French  alliance  now  came  forth, 
The  Papists  flocked  in  shoals,  sir, 

Friseurs,  Marquis,  Valets  of  Birth 
And  priests  to  save  our  souls,  sir." 

"Loyalist  Poetry,"  p.  65. 


TRYING  TO  PRESERVE  THE  UNION.         155 

All  that  was  detested  in  the  French  character  or 
political  institutions  was  prophetically  promised  for 
America.  Hordes  of  French  dancing  masters, 
fiddlers  and  friseurs  were  reported  coming  from 
Brest  to  instruct  the  Puritans  in  French  manners. 
Portable  soups,  garlic  and  dried  frogs  were  being 
prepared  for  importation.1  The  contract  for  a  Bas 
tille  in  New  York  had  already  been  granted,  and 
America  would  soon  enjoy  the  blessings  of  French 
government  and  the  felicity  of  popery.2  The  infamy 
of  such  an  alliance,  cried  a  Tory  writer,  could  not 
be  matched,  and  to  think  that  it  was  done  just  as 
England  was  again  offering  the  balm  of  peace  to 
her  ungrateful  children  ! 3 

The  whole  unlucky  career  of  the  French  fleet  was 
watched  by  the  Tories  with  great  pleasure.  The 
French  admiral,  it  was  declared,  had  "  not  even 
Pantagruel's  luck,  who  conquered  two  old  women 
and. a  duck."4  Lafayette  and  his  fellow  country 
men  were  described  as  "  the  frog-eating  gentry  now 
capering  through  your  provinces,"  and  the  marquis 
was  represented  amusing  himself  before  the  glass  or 
taking  snuff,  and  always  bowing  thirteen  times — the 
exact  number  of  the  United  States  —  when  the 
"renowned  Don  Quixotto,  drawcansiro  de  Fayetto" 
was  saluted  by  the  Lieutenant- General  of  France, 
George  Washington. 

1  Rivingtort 's  Gazette,  October  18,  1778. 

2  Ib id.,  October  7,  1778. 

.t  October  10,  1778. 
id.,  November  6,  1779. 


156  THE   LOYALISTS. 

/ 

After  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  nothing 
so  amazed  the  loyalists  as  the  French  treaty.  They 
could  not  see  why  Americans  chose  "instead  of 
England,  a  faithful  and  loving  mother  —  even 
though  at  times  a  severe  one,"  —  to  have  "  France, 
a  treacherous  and  cruel  stepmother.'0  They  made 
all  the  political  capital  possible  out  of  this,  as  they 
chose  to  regard  it,  fatal  step  of  Congress.  Riving- 
ton  published  every  preamble  of  Whig  laws,  every 
proclamation  and  every  letter,  which  approved  of 
the  alliance  with  France.  Such  quotations  were 
regarded  as  terrible  testimony  against  the  Whig 
cause.  Of  all  the  errors  made  by  the  Whigs  this  was 
regarded  as  the  keystone.  The  wretched  financier 
ing,  the  oppressive  laws,  the  despotic  powers  given 
Washington  in  respect  to  all  who  refused  to  take 
the  Continental  currency,  and  even  the  occasional 
success  of  the  British  arms  were  but  minor  argu 
ments  compared  with  the  sinfulness  of  this  wicked 
alliance.1 

The  varying  fortunes  of  the  war  greatly  influenced 
the  strength  of  both  parties.  After  the  4th  of  July, 
1776,  nothing  so  hurt  the  Whig  party,  temporarily, 
as  the. loss  of  New  York,  and  nothing  so  weakened 
the  Tory  spirits  as  Bur^rovne's  defeaL  Yet  the 

!The  following  appeared  in  Rivington' s  Gazette,  October  20, 
1779  :  "Since  Dr.  Franklin  has  ceded  Canada  and  Florida  to  the 
French  and  Spaniards,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  he  will  give  New 
England  to  the  pretender  and  make  the  Pope  Archbishop  of  North 
America  and  that  the  whole  continent  in  the  end  may  go  to  the 
devil." 


TO  PRESERVE  THE  UNION.         157 

Tories  met  every  vicissitude  with  renewed  endeavors 
to  win  over  their  erring  friends  in  the  colonies. 
They  never  weaned  of  the  argument  that  in  Wash 
ington's  camp  the  soldier  had  13  kings  and  no 
bread,  and  that  it  was  better  to  serve  one  king  and 
have  plenty  of  bread.  Their  efforts  in  disseminating 
the  proclamations  of  the  British  commanders,  prom 
ising  pardon  and  employment  to  the  deserters  from 
the  Whig  armies,  and  the  numerous  arguments 
with  which  they  fortified  these  inducements  pro 
voked  the  greatest  wrath  of  the  American  leaders.1 
Joseph  Galloway,  when  the  British  were  in  pos 
session  of  Philadelphia,  was  assigned  the  task  of 
enrolling  and  ascertaining  the  character  of  the 
people  who  came  into  the  city.  He  testified  that 
2,300  deserters  came  into  his  office.2  At  this  time 
the  Patriots  were  humorously  quoted  as  crying  in 
alarm,  "  our  men  now  depreciate  as  fast  as  our 
money."  A  member  of  Congress  asserted  that 
officers  in  the  American  army  even  stimulated  their 
men  to  desertion  that  they  might  find  an  excuse  to 
follow  them.  Regimental  surgeons,  he  declared, 

'Lord  Howe's  proclamation  (December,  1776),  his  proclamation 
at  Elkton  in  the  following  year,  General  Prevost's  proclamation  after 
subduing  Georgia,  and  Sir  Henry  Clinton's  proclamation  requiring 
all  people  of  South  Carolina  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  reestab- 
lishment  of  the  royal  government  were  the  principal  proclamations  ; 
but  there  were  many  others  and  all  were  assiduously  disseminated 
by  the  Loyalists. 

2  Of  these  one  half  were  Irish,  one  fourth  English  and  Scotch, 
and  the  rest  Americans.  Howe's  proclamation  offered  passage  to 
Ireland  to  deserters. 


158  THE   LOYALISTS. 

took  bribes  to  certify  sickness  and  thus  exempt  the 
soldiers  from  duty.1  The  successes  of  Howe  have, 
wrote  this  congressman,  given  a  strange  spring  to 
Toryism.  "  Men  who  have  hitherto  lurked  in 
silence  and  neutrality  seem  willing  to  take  sides  in 
opposition  to  the  liberties  of  their  country." 

It  is  just  that  great  mass  of  the  Americans,  which 
was  always  ready  to  move  toward  the  point  of  least 
resistance,  that  has  been  least  regarded  by  those 
who  have  sought  a  theory  of  the  American  Revo 
lution.  That  mass  has  never  been  a  flattering  object 
for  the  contemplation  of  either  the  Whig  or  Tory 
sympathizer.  As  a  result,  one  student  has  pro 
nounced  the  Revolution  the  work  of  "  an  unscrupu 
lous  and  desperate  minority  "  ;  while  another  declared 
it  was  "the  settled  conviction  of  the  people  that  the 
priceless  treasure  of  self-government  could  be  pre- 
"served  by  no  other  means."2  A  study  of  the 
political  struggle  between  the  Whig  and  the  Tory 
seems  to  show  that,  at  both  extremes  of  political 
thought,  there  was  a  small  body  of  positive  and 
determined  men,  while  between  them  lay  the 
wavering  neutral  masses  ready  to  move  unresist 
ingly  in  the  direction  given  by  the  success  of 
either  Whig  or  Tory.  Leagued  with  the  positive 
*ory  minority  was  the  British  Government,  while 
the  Whig  minority  began  the  struggle  with  the  aid- 
of  the  great  natural  advantages  of  a  field  vast  and 

i  "  North  Carolina  Records,"  Vol.  X.,  818. 
2Fiske,  "American  Revolution,"  Vol.  I.,  196. 


TRYING   TO  PRESERVE   THE  UNION.         159 

far   removed   from    the    resources    of   the   enemy.    J. 
Then  the  aid  of  alliances  turned  the  tide  steadily  -nl 
and  irresistibly  toward  Whig  victory,  and,  as  then 
trend   of  events  became   evident   to   the   mass   of  j 
neutral  Americans,  they  also  joined  the  favorable  ;  j 
flood  and  assured  the  ultimate  success. 

The  deserter,  then,  was  not  necessarily  a  rascal. 
In  many  cases  no  doubt  he  might  be  induced  by  the 
"  difference  between  doubloons  and  rags"  to  quit 
an  unprofitable  service  for  one  more  beneficial,  but 
many  a  deserter  had  a  more  laudable  motive.  He 
might  be  only  a  thoughtless  fellow  who  had  been 
carried  into  rebellion  by  the  enthusiasm  of  men  with 
positive  convictions.  Then  some  terrible  calamity 
to  the  American  cause,  some  real  suffering  and 
privation,  or  a  proclamation  containing  a  terrible 
threat  or  a  fearful  reminder  that  he  was  a  traitor, 
brought  him  to  a  realization  of  the  true  situation. 
A  revulsion  of  feeling  brought  back  all  his  natural 
conservatism,  and  he  made  the  best  of  his  earliest 
opportunity  to  join  the  cause  to  which  his  con 
science  bound  him.  The  Tories  understood  the 
nature  of  this  neutral  body  of  men,  far  better  than 
the  British,  and  constantly  urged  the  British  com 
manders  to  send  skeleton  regiments  into  the  neutral 
districts  with  arms  to  be  distributed  among  the  loyal 
men  who  would  at  once  flock  to  the  king's  standard. 
Joseph  Galloway,  the  most  active  of  all  the  Loyal 
ists,  'pled  earnestly  for  such  an  experiment.  He 
asserted  that  "  the  people  in  every  quarter  of  the 


160  THE  LOYALISTS. 

provinces  of  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  the  Dela 
ware  counties  and  Maryland  are  daily  petitioning 
to  be  supported  with  a  few  of  the  King's  troops  and 
offering  ...  to  take  up  arms  in  behalf  of  govern 
ment  to  seize  and  disarm  their  .  .  .  oppressors."  l 
The  influential  men  in  those  parts  were  making 
incessant  offers,  he  declared,  "  to  raise  the  loyal 
in  their  several  districts  and  form  them  into  a 
militia,"  to  defend  the  countiy,  "  provided  they  are 
duly  and  properly  authorized  to  do  so  and  are  fur 
nished  with  arms."  2  Galloway  offered  to  furnish 
lists  of  those  gentlemen,  but  his  advice,  as  well  as 
most  other  counsel  offered  the  British  by  the  Tories, 
was  not  heeded. 

Leading  Loyalists,  like  Joseph  Galloway  and 
Governpr^Tryon,  did  not  aid  the  British  merely  by 

(giving  advice.3  They  busied  themselves  tirelessly 
with  schemes  and  plots  to  overthrow  the  patriot 

Stevens'  "Facsimiles,"  No.  2090,  dated  March  4,  1778. 

2 Stevens'  "Facsimiles,"  No.  2097,  dated  June  17,  1778.  He 
listed  the  counties  as  follows  : 

Pennsylvania :    Philadelphia,   Bucks,   Chester,   Lancaster,  York. 

Delaware  :  Newcastle,  Kent,  Sussex. 

Maryland :  Kent,  Queen  Ann's,  Dorset,  Somerset,  Caroline, 
Talbot. 

New  Jersey :  Burlington,  Gloucester,  Salem,  Cumberland, 
Hunterdon,  Monmouth. 

Virginia  :  Accomack,  Northampton. 

N.  B. — Several  of  the  counties  would  raise  1,000  men,  none 
under  500,  so  that  we  may  safely  count  upon  500  on  an  average  in 
each,  making  in  the  whole  10,000  men. 

3  See  Stevens'  "  Facsimiles  "  No.  438  for  interesting  light  on  the 
subject  of  the  Tory  advice  to  the  British. 


TRYING  TO  PRESERVE  THE  UNION.         l6l 

(cause.     The  plot  a^ains^Washington's  life  had  beenl 
traced  to  Tryon's  instigation,  and  he  was  suspected! 

of  another  which  had  no  less  an  object  than  the 
capture  of  the  entire  New  York  provincial  conven 
tion.1  Galloway,  not  to  be  outdone  by  his  famous 
rival,  planned  to  seize  and  bring  into  the  British 
camp  the  "  rebel  Governor  Livingston,"  and  his 
whole  council  and  assembly  sitting  at  Trenton.2 
He  was  not  permitted  to  execute  this  plan,  and 
turned  his  attention  to  another  scheme,  which  had 
no  less  an  object  than  the  capture  of  the  Continen 
tal  Congress.  Again  he  failed  to  get  proper  sup 
port,  and  then  confined  his  efforts  to  directing  the 
movements  of  certain  refugee  foragers  who  cap 
tured  quantities  of  cloth  and  provisions  intended 
for  Washington's  "  armed  tatterdemalions "  at 
Valley  Forge.  These  services  to  the  British  cause 
seem,  many  of  them,  petty  and  valueless,  but  in  the 
sum  total  they  were  most  annoying  to  the  Whigs. 
The  Tories  made  every  effort  to  render  the  state  of 
war  as  odious  as  possible,  and,  to  this  end,  many 
turned  renegade  and  robbed  and  destroyed  in  so 
secret  and  mysterious  a  manner  as  to  make  life  in 
their  vicinity  a  state  of  terror.  They  made  the 
mails  unsafe,  and,  more  than  once,  valuable  letters 3 
were  stolen  and  published  by  Rivington  for  the  edi 
fication  of  the  Tories  in  New  York.4  They  har- 

1"  Clinton's  Papers,"  Vol.  I.,  716. 

2  "  Galloway's  Examination,"  p.  62. 

3  "Journals  of  Congress,"  Vol.  IV.,  June  17,  1778. 
*  Rivington"1  s  Gazette ,  July  and  August,  1781. 

12 


1 62  THE  LOYALISTS. 

bored  the  British  soldiers  in  their  houses  and  guided 
them  through  dangerous  passes.  It  even  became 
necessary  to  enact  laws  with  severe  penalties  to 
prevent  them  buying  the  clothing  and  accoutre 
ments  of  the  soldiers  in  the  Continental  army.1  A 
strange  state  of  affairs  is  indicated,  however,  by  the 
necessity  of  such  a  law.  It  quite  excused  the  cynic 
who  advertised  a  book  entitled  "  Genuine  Patriot 
ism  or  a  disinterested  love  of  our  country"  and  de 
scribed  its  contents  as  "  Fables  for  the  amusement 
of  children." 

Of  all  the  ways  which  the  Tories  had  of  making 
themselves  obnoxious  to  the  Whigs,  none  was  so 
disquieting  as  the  ever-imminent  danger  of  a  Tory 
insurrection.  Every  attempt  to  enforce  an  unpopular 
law,  or  any  real  or  rumored  approach  of  the  British 
forces  was  enough  to  make  every  secret  Tory  alert 
and  eager  to  overthrow  his  Whig  oppressors.  The 
latter  were  only  too  well  aware  of  the  unstable  na 
ture  of  their  tyrannical  power,  and  their  apprehen 
sions  were  a  source  of  very  real  sufferings.  We  shall 
see,further  on,  the  measures  they  took  to  remedy  this 
ill.  It  is  sufficient,  at  present,  to  note  the  effect  of 
this  always  present  danger  in  lessening  the  efficient 
fighting  power  of  the  patriots.  Upon  several  occa 
sions  the  local  militia  might  have  greatly  aided  the 
continental  army,2  but  the  threatening  attitude  of 

1  "Laws  of  New  Jersey,"  p.  147,  dated  June  17,  1780. 
2 For  one  instance  see  "Clinton  Papers,"  Vol.  II.,  193. 


TRYING  TO  PRESERVE  THE  UNION.         163 

their  Tory  neighbors  compelled  them  to  remain 
at  home  to  protect  their  own  property. 

In  the  light  of  these  facts,  it  is  not  strange  that 
the  Whigs  began  very  early  to  disarm  the  Tories, 
and  that  they  increased  their  zeal  in  this  work  as 
the  war  progressed,  or  when  the  threatened  ap 
proach  of  the  British  augmented  their  fear  of  Tory 
coalition.  The  wisdom  of  the  action  from  a  politi 
cal  standpoint  was  questioned,  but  its  military  effect 
was  undoubted.  The  Loyalists  were  unable  to  aid 
the  British,  in  a  military  way,  until  armed  and  in 
corporated  in  the  royal  armies.  Their  uprisings 
were  rendered  ineffective,  while  their  confidence  in 
themselves  and  the  weight  of  their  opinions  with 
others  was  greatly  reduced. 

The  work  was  begun  merely  as  an  expedient  in 
certain  places  by  local  committees,  but  soon  won 
the  approval  of  the  military  commanders  and,  finally, 
the  endorsement  of  the  Continental  Congress,  which 
in  turn  quickly  received  the  legal  support  of  the 
state  legislatures.  The  agents  employed  were  civil 
officers,  in  cases  where  no  opposition  was  met,  but 
there  was  no  hesitation  in  the  employment  of  the 
militia,  or  even  of  detachments  of  the  regular  army, 
where  any  resistance  was  expected.  Lists  of  the 
disarmed  persons  were  made  out,  partly  to  save  the 
unfortunate  from  being  fined  for  appearing  at  muster 
without  arms  ;  in  other  cases,  that  the  law  might  be 
enforced,  which  imposed  a  fine  of  double  the  value 


164  THE  LOYALISTS. 

on  all  arms  concealed.1  So  thoroughly  was  this 
work  done  that,  in  some  instances,  the  insurgent 
Tories  were  armed  only  with  clubs.2  The  subject 
of  Tory  military  organization,  however,  and  the  aid 
thus  given  the  British  is  the  theme  for  a  subsequent 
chapter. 

1  See  the  table  of  Test  Laws  in  the  Appendix  in  the  columns  of 
"penalties." 

2  Galloway's  "  Examination  in  the  House  of  Commons." 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

UNDER    THE    STANDARD    OF    THE    KING. 

I  THE  lack  of  initiative  in  the  Loyalists  has  been 
.suggested  as  one  of  the  reasons  why  they  failed  in 
"the  political  contest  with  the  Whigs.  Again,  when 
they  might  have  been  a  tremendous  force  in  the 
military  contest,  they  waited  for  proper  commissions 
from  the  king.  The  very  conservatism,  which  made 
them  the  opponents  of  the  Whigs,  ^rendered  their 
opposition  weak  and  ineffectual.  Before  the  British 
gained  control  of  New  York,  there  had  been  sporadic5— 
efforts  to  enlist  and  arm  the  Tories,  but  the  Whig 
activity  in  organizing  their  own  forces  had  so  far 
outstripped  these  weak  attempts  that  they  came  to 
nothing.  When  too  late  to  be  effective,  there  began 
a  period  when  active  military  men  obtained  com 
missions  and  went  about  organizing  companies  of 
exiled  or  outlawed  Tories  to  become  a  part  of  the 
British  army.  A  regiment  composed  of  Scotch 
refugees  and  old  soldiers,  raised  by  Allan  McLean 
and  Guy  Johnson  in  New  York,1  in  the  spring  of 
1775,  was  hurried  out  of  the  colonies  into  Canada. 

1  Flick,  "  Loyalism  in  New  York,"  p.  101. 
165 


1 66  THE  LOYALISTS. 

One,  Duncan  Campbell,  enlisted  some  New  York 
Loyalists  to  aid  Gage  when  he  was  cooped  up  in 
Boston.  But  these  bodies,  like  that  which  was 
defeated  at  Moore's  Creek  in  North  Carolina,1  were 
merely  auxiliary  forces,  brought  into  being  and  en 
couraged  by  the  expectation  of  aid  from  the  British 
armies. 

Early  in  1776,  fugitive  Loyalists  were  organized 
:>y  Sir  John  Johnson,  and  these  companies  hung  on 
the  Canadian  frontier,  waiting  the  opportunity  of 
vengeance  which  came  for  the  first  time  with  Bur- 
goyne's  campaign.  Then  St.  Leger,  with  Johnson's 
"Loyal  Greens"  and  Butler's  "Tory  Rangers," 
descended  from  Niagara  and  fought  the  terrible 
battle  of  Oriskany.  After  this  murderous  engage 
ment,  horrible  even  amid  the  dreadful  scenes  of  war, 
came  the  sortie  from  Fort  Stanwix  by  which  the 
patriots  routed  the  Tory  forces,  and  St.  Leger  was 
sent  flying  back  over  the  Canadian  line.  But  John 
son  and  Butler  with  their  Loyal  bands  had  simply 
fled  to  return  again  and  become  the  terror  of  the 
New  York  frontier.  In  less  than  a  year,  the 
"Rangers"  and  the  "Greens"  with  their  Indian 
allies  returned  and  swept  through  the  valley  of  the 
ing,  leaving  such  a  scene  of  desolation,  that 
the  valley  suggests  the  horror  of  mas 
sacre  to  this  day.  In  the  Cherry  Valley,  Butler 

1  Galloway's  "  Examination  in  the  House  of  Commons,"  p.  27. 
He  also  speaks  of  2,000  men  who  rose  in  arms  in  the  peninsula  be 
tween  the  Chesapeake  and  the  Delaware. 


UNDER   THE  KING'S  STANDARD.  167 

and  Brandt,  his  Indian  ally,  repeated  the  terrors  of 
the  Wyoming  expedition,  and  at  last  aroused  Con 
gress  to  send  General  Greene  to  the  rescue  of  the 
frontier.  At  the  battle  of  Newtown,  the  Tory 
forces,  some  1,500  men,  were  defeated  and  a  check 
given  them  for  a  time,  but  they  returned  and  created 
a  reign  of  terror  in  the  Mohawk  Valley  until  the 
end  of  the  war. 

This  brief  sketch  of  Tory  aggression  is  fearfully 
suggestive  of  the  work  they  might  have  done,  had 
fthey  earlier  abandoned  the  idea  of  leaving  their  fate 
to  the  success  of  British  arms.  The  only  defense 
'  that  can  be  made  for  that  procrastination  was  made, 
late  in  1779,  by  Rivington,  the  Tory  editor  of  the 
famous  loyal  Gazette.  He  defended  the  Tories 
against  the  insinuation  that  they  were  not  willing 
to  aid.  It  was  absurd,  he  wrote,  to  expect  a  people, 
however  well  affected,  to  rise  without  arms  and  with 
out  any  encouragement  or  commission  to  do  so. 
The  British  had  already  been  obliged  to  abandon 
the  Loyalists  of  New  Jersey  to  the  resentment  of 
the  Americans,  and  several  uprisings  in  Maryland, 
Delaware,  North  Carolina  and  New  Jersey,1  unsup 
ported  by  the  British,  had  been  suppressed  and  pun 
ished.  The  Loyalists  had  learned  a  lesson.  The 
British  general  should  have  invited  their  aid,  if  he 
wished  it.2 

1  Another  was  suppressed  in  Virginia,  see   "  Laws  of  Virginia," 
Vol.  X.,  195. 

2  Rivingtori 's  Gazette,  November  10,  1779. 


1 68  THE  LOYALISTS. 

Such  a  defence,  of  course,  could  only  apply  to 
the  period  after  the  British  had  come  to  New  York. 
Rivington's  views  were  supported  by  the  Commis 
sioners  who  had  been  sent  to  America  by  the  king. 
They  thought  that  insufficient  means  had  been  used 
"  toward  engaging,  employing  and  retaining  the 
well-disposed  inhabitants," l  and  they  highly  ap 
proved  of  a  recent  resolution  of  Parliament  to  give 
half  pay  to  the  provincial  officers  having  enlisted  a 
certain  number  of  men.  It  would,  they  felt  sure, 
"  draw  off  multitudes  of  good  recruits  from  the  land 
service  of  the  Rebel  Congress." 

When  Lord  Howe  came  to  New  York,  he  had 
expected  great  aid  from  the  Loyalists,  and,  in  spite 
of  the  common  aversion  to  joining  the  regular  army, 
he  had  by  offers  of  bounties  and  the  pay  of  regulars 
increased  his  force  by  thousands.2  Tryon,  the  ex 
iled  Governor  of  New  York,  was  made  Major  Gen 
eral  of  the  provincial  forces,  and  he,  with  able  men 
commissioned  under  him,  began  the  work  of  re 
cruiting.3  Their  success  was  only  moderate  until 
the  announcement,  early  in  1779,  that  provincial 
officers  on  service  with  regular  troops  should  take 
rank  as  juniors  of  the  rank  to  which  they  belonged. 
If  wounded  they  should  receive  the  same  gratuity 
as  officers  of  the  regular  army.4  This  concession, 

1  Stevens'  "Facsimiles"  No.  1269,  dated  March  8,  1779. 

2  Flick,  "  Loyal  ism  in  New  York,"  p.  104. 

3  Oliver  de  Lancey,  Major  Robert  Rogers,  Colonel  Fanning  and 
Colonel  Simcoe  were  the  most  successful  Tory  officers. 

^Rivington's  Gazette,  May  19,  1779. 


UNDER   THE  KING'S  STANDARD.  169 

added  to  a  movement  that  had  already  begun 
among  the  Tories  in  New  York,  gave  a  great  spur 
to  the  organization  of  loyal  troops. 

Early  in  1778,  Rivington  began  to  publish  letters 
written  by  Loyalists  urging  their  fellow  refugees  to 
form  companies  of  militia  which  would  be  at  liberty 
to  choose  their  own  officers.  Many  had  held  back 
previously  because  they  did  not  care  to  enlist  under 
officers  in  whose  choosing  they  had  no  voice. 
Now  the  agitators  urged  initiative  action  by  the 
loyalists.  One  writer  was  greatly  surprised  that, 
for  months  past,  the  Loyalists  had  rested  con 
tented  in  a  state  of  indolence  and  languid  inactivity 
without  embodying  in  volunteer  companies  to  take 
up  arms  against  their  "  cruel  and  inveterate  ene 
mies,  the  rebels,"  by  whom  they  had  been  "  plun 
dered,  insulted  and  persecuted  in  a  most  barbarous 
and  brutal  manner."  l  Some  time  later,  "  Scotus 
Americanus  "  recited  the  wrongs  of  the  Tories  and 
urged  them  to  convene  and  devise  a  means  of  co 
operating  with  the  British.  "  What  hinders  it,  but 
that  a  handful  of  men  may  overset  this  rebellion, 
which  has  been  brought  about  by  a  handful  of 
men?"  Those,  he  declared,  who  had  neither 
spirit  to  defend  rebellion  nor  to  oppose  it,  can  not 
be  of  much  use  to  any  party,  and  are  a  sort  of  mon 
ster  in  politics.2  Some  had  doubted  the  ultimate 
success  of  the  war,  and  hesitated  to  fight  because 

1  Rivington1  s  Gazette,  April  1 1,  1778. 

2  Ibid.,  December  16,  1778. 


1 70  THE  L  0  YA LISTS. 

of  the  penalties  that  the  successful  Whigs  would 
impose,  but  had  not  the  king  said  that  he  would 
not  agree  to  American  Independence  until  the 
Tower  of  London  was  taken  sword  in  hand  ? 

Aroused  by  repeated  appeals,  the  large  number 
of  refugees,  then  gathered  in  New  York,  began  to 
call  meetings  to  consider  the  project  of  an  organ 
ized  body  of  militia.  Those  who  had  not  already 
been  lured  into  the  companies,  formed  by  the 
active  men  who  had  received  commissions  for  that 
purpose,  now  entered  the  more  promising  bodies  in 
which  they  might  choose  their  own  leaders. 

They  had  long  been  used  to  seeing  the  gazettes 
rilled  with  the  most  enticing  propositions  to  join  the 
enterprising  adventures  of  commissioned  officers. 
"All  aspiring  heroes,"  ran  the  advertisements,  were 
now  given  a  chance  to  distinguish  themselves. 
They  could  "  cooperate  in  relieving  themselves  from 
the  miseries  of  anarchy  and  tyranny."  Every  true 
friend  of  America  ought  to  step  forth.1  "  Any 
spirited  young  man,"  announced  an  officer  of  dra 
goons,  would  be  immediately  mounted  on  an  ele 
gant  horse  and  furnished  with  clothing  worth  £40. 
He  could  then  take  part  in  the  "  finishing  stroke 
of  this  unnatural  rebellion." 2  Again  the  reader 
was  informed  that  "  none  but  the  Brave  deserve 
the  Fair,"  and,  as  a  corollary,  all  aspiring  young 

1  Pennsylvania  Evening  Post,  October  14,  1777  >    RMngtotfs 
Gazette,  May  2,  1778. 

2  Subordinates  should  receive  50  acre  grants  of  land  and  six 
guineas,  officers  should  have  200  acres. 


UNDER    THE  KING' S  STANDARD.  171 

men,  whose  hearts  panted  for  military  glory,  and 
who  wished  to  serve  their  king  and  country,  might 
join  a  new  enterprise  against  the  dominions  of  the 
"  Golden  Spaniard."  The  advertiser  was  now  wait 
ing  to  lead  them  on  to  the  field  of  victory  and  to 
splendid  fortunes.1  In  spite  of  the  El  Dorado  pre 
sented  by  a  Florida  campaign,  however,  many  had 
preferred  the  safety  of  the  British  protection  in 
New  York. 

The  new  inducement  offered  by  the  militia  or 
ganization  was  that  the  officers  were,  to  a  man, 
Americans,  "  who  felt  very  sensibly  for  the  suffer 
ings  of  their  loyal  brethren."  With  infinite  pleas 
ure  they  now  offered  all  refugees  an  asylum  in  the 
loyal  band  where  they  might  live  in  harmony  with 
their  friends.  The  militia  companies  thus  organ 
ized  were  supplied  with  clothing,  by  subscription  or 
by  the  proceeds  of  a  lottery.  Residents  in  the 
territory  controlled  by  the  British  armies  raised 
large  sums  of  money,  or,  as  in  the  case  of  some 
Quakers,  made  clothing,  for  the  provincial  corps. 
This  provision  for  the  comfort  of  the  militia  was,  in 
itself,  a  great  inducement  for  many  to  join  the  or 
ganization  ;  for  they  had  nothing,  themselves,  and 
the  charity  provided  for  the  idle  was  very  scant. 

When  these  volunteer  companies  first  appeared, 
the  Tory  editor  thought  that  every  loyal  heart 
must  have  been  delighted  with  the  view.2  It  was 

^  Rivington1  s  Gazette,  January  6,  1781. 
8 /£*</.,  November  22,  1777. 


172  THE   LOYALISTS. 

all  the  more  pleasing,  he  said,  because  none  had 
been  required  to  take  arms  "  not  even  the  most 
apostate  amongst  those  who  have  taken  the  benefit 
of  the  proclamation  and  come  to  the  city  for  pro 
tection."  The  organization  was  reviewed  and  very 
blandly  complimented,  one  pleasant  morning  in 
July.  As  the  volunteer  companies,  dressed  in  their 
uniforms,  paraded  in  the  fields,  they  were  addressed 
"in  the  politest  manner"  by  the  British  Major 
General,  and  were  promised  that  he  would  acquaint 
the  king  with  their  loyalty  and  military  ardor.1  It 
was  said  with  pride,  and  believed,  that  the  whole 
number  of  Loyalists  mustered  on  one  of  these  oc 
casions  exceeded  Washington's  Continental  army. 
In  January  of  1780,  the  strength  of  the  Loyal 
militia  in  New  York  was  estimated  at  5,855  men.2 
It  gave  Rivington  great  satisfaction,  that,  besides  the 
regular  army,  so  respectable  a  body  had  united  to 
contribute  its  aid  for  the  "  suppression  of  this  un 
natural  rebellion." 

Still,  the  complaint  was  made  some  months  later 
that  many  thousands  of  refugees  and  Loyalists3 
were  not  yet  enlisted  in  his  Majesty's  service.  It 
was  hoped  that  those  not  employed  in  any  depart 
ment  under  the  king  would  serve  as  volunteers,  and 

1  Rivington1 's  Gazette,  July  29,  1778. 

2  Ibid.,  January  29,  1780.      See  for  detail  of  companies,  etc. 

3  A  distinction  was  drawn  between  those  who  early  fled  to  the 
British  army  and  those  who  only  came  in  under  the  stress  of  perse 
cution  and  encouraged  by  the  British  proclamations. 


UNDER    THE   KINGS  STANDARD.  173 

defend  the  city,  if  the  army  went  into  the  country.1 
In  an  hour  of  danger,  in  the  winter  of  1779-80, 
wrhen  the  intense  cold  had  frozen  the  bay  and  shut 
out  the  British  ships,  many  of  the  refugees,  not  in 
the  militia,  offered  to  embody  to  resist  a  threatened 
attack.  Some  900  armed  at  their  own  expense, 
and  others  were  supplied  from  the  king's  stores.2 
Yet,  so  many  still  held  back  that  General  Robertson 
felt  justified,  in  June  of  1 782,  in  declaring  that,  there 
after,  all  persons  were  to  perform  military  duty,  ex 
cept  "  ministers  of  God's  word,"  and  his  Majesty's 
councillors.  All  persons,  who,  from  age  and  in 
firmity,  were  unable  to  act,  might  employ  substitutes, 
as  might  also  "  gentlemen  of  the  learned  profes 
sions."  Those  who  refused  were  to  be  removed  to 
the  guardhouse.  No  person  deserved  protection 
in  a  place  to  the  defence  of  which  he  refused  to 
contribute.  Those  who  were  enrolled  under  this 
order  were,  however,  of  no  avail  ;  for  the  end  of  the 
war  and  the  day  of  final  defeat  was  even  then  upon 
them. 

When  the  loyal  militia  had  been  organized,  there 
fell  to  its  unfortunate  lot  the  performance  of  those 
acts  of  war  which  especially  aroused  the  hatred  of 
the  patriots.  The  small  expeditions  to  burn  and 
pillage  towns  and  to  annoy  the  Whig  farmers  were 
left  to  them.  The  great  campaigns  were  recog 
nized  as  legitimate  warfare,  and  those  who  took  part 

1  Rivingtort  s  Gazette,  June  3,  1780. 

2  Ibid.>  June  28,  1780. 


174  TPIE  LOYALISTS. 

were  regarded  as  honorable  enemies  ;  but  the  men 
who  harassed  and  worried  the  country  by  petty 
attacks  came  to  be  hated  in  a  most  virulent  way.1 
Add  to  this  the  fact  that,  on  the  frontiers,  they  fre 
quently  acted  in  conjunction  with  the  Indians,2  and 
we  may  understand  why  a  Tory  was  "a  devil  in 
human  shape,"  3  in  the  eyes  of  the  patriots. 

The  regulations  that  governed  their  operations 
provided  that  they  should  plunder  only  "rebels," 
and  that  they  should  be  entitled  to  what  they 
seized.  They  wrere  to  practice  no  excesses  or  bar 
barities  contrary  to  the  recognized  laws  of  war. 
Any  prisoners  seized  by  them  were  to  be  kept  apart 
and  exchanged  for  captured  Loyalists.4  They 
were,  therefore,  licensed  to  prey  upon  the  country 
for  their  subsistence.5  This  sort  of  warfare  soon 
led  to  outrages  and  retaliation,  and  much  embit 
tered  the  Whig  and  Tory  relations. 

Leaving  the  British  lines  for  a  few  hours,  they 
would  dash  into  the  enemy's  country,  up  the 
Hudson,  into  "  indigo  Connecticut  "  or  over  to  New 
Jersey,  and  drive  off  horses  and  -cattle,  kidnap  the 
Whig  owners,  and,  in  some  cases,  leave  a  village  in 
ruin  and  desolation.  Every  farmer  lived  in  fear  of 

1  See  Gov.  Livingston's  summary  of  their  deeds,  Sabine,  "Loy 
alists,"  p.  21. 

2 See  "Pennsylvania  Archives,"  Vol.  III.,  192,  "New  York 
Colonial  Documents,"  Vol.  VIII. ,  159,  etc. 

3  "Clinton  Papers,"  Vol.  I.,  746. 

4  "  Documents  Relating  to  the  Colonial  History  of  New  York," 
Vol.  VIII. ,  770. 

6  Rivingtorfs  Gazette,  June  5,  1779. 


UNDER    THE  KINGS  STANDARD.  175 

the  Tories  "  lurking  in  the  woods,"  and  measured  his 
loss  not  only  by  the  amount  of  which  he  was  robbed, 
but  by  the  harvests  which  he  dared  not  gather,  and 
which  lay  rotting  in  the  fields.  Committee-men  and 
members  of  the  state  legislatures  were  kept  in  terror 
by  the  occasional  capture  of  one  of  their  number 
and  horrible  stories  of  his  fate.  Jails  were  emptied 
and  burned,  and  many  Tories  thus  liberated.  The 
effect  or  imagined  effect  of  this  sort  of  warfare  was 
described  by  Rivington  in  the  most  florid  news 
paper  rhetoric.  He  loved  to  represent  the  Whigs, 
"  those  pickaroon  gentry,"  being  chased  headlong 
cross  country  by  loyal  rangers  ;  and,  if  these  bands 
had  killed  and  captured  half  as  many  on  each  little 
foray  as  Rivington  claimed,  there  would  not  have 
been  a  patriot  man,  woman  or  child  left  in  the 
devastated  country.1  In  defending  the  marauding 

1  Rivington' '$  Gazette,  July  7,  1779.  Lieut.  Col.  Tarleton 
attacked  a  party  of  ''rebel  Nags"  (near  Bedford).  [The  Tories 
compelled  the  "rebels"  to  quit  their  "Jades"  and  killed  22 — got 
17  prisoners — burned  several  houses.]  "Amongst  the  prisoners  is 
one  of  the  Vantassals  ...  of  a  pedigree  partly  Indian,  partly  Ba- 
tavian  ;  this  despicable  .caitiff  has  of  late  amused  himself  with  cruelly 
flagellating  numbers  of  inoffensive  women,  whom  he  had  suspected 
of  frequenting  the  N.  Y.  Markets  ;  4  of  this  handy  varlet's  brothers 
.  .  .  are  held  as  hostages  for  4  men  of  the  Provincial  corps  who 
had  been  made  prisoners  .  .  .  tried  and  destined  to  the  cord  by 
their  new  Republican  legislature,  .  .  .  the  fate  of  the  Vantassal 
fraternity  will  depend  immediately  upon  that  of  the  Loyal  Provin 
cials.  When  once  the  gallows  of  castigation  shall  be  erected  on 
the  side  of  loyalty,  a  period  to  the  public  and  wanton  murder  of  the 
king's  friends  will  assuredly  follow.  One  Hunt,  formerly  a  breeches 
maker  of  this  city,  but  of  late  a  vender  of  the  confiscated  estates  of 
Loyal  Refugees,  an  orator,  a  messenger  employed  by  Congress,  etc. , 


1 76  THE   LOYALISTS. 

expeditions,  however,  he  made  a  very  good  point 
when  he  noted  that,  "  The  Rebels  in  their  accounts 
of  these  excursions,  speak  of  the  Refugees  as 
Thieves,  Robbers  and  Murderers,  while  they  repre 
sent  their  people  when  concerned  in  the  same  kind 
of  transactions  as  brave  Warriors,  Heroes  and 
Demigods."  l 

For  the  purpose  of  making  this  mode  of  attack 
more  dangerous,  the  New  Jersey  Legislature  de 
nounced  these  "  felonious  outrages,"  and  ordered 
the  governor  to  issue  a  proclamation  for  appre 
hending  these  associated  persons  as  men  guilty  of 
murder.2  Thereafter,  Rivington  asserted,  "  scarcely 
a  rebel  newspaper  "  did  not  contain  an  account  of 
some  Loyalist  hanged.  "  By  way  of  blind,"  they 
represented  him  as  guilty  of  theft,  or  of  acting  as  a 
spy.  "They  wanted  rebel  foragers,"  he  cried  in 
dignantly,  "  exchanged  as  prisoners  of  war,  but 
Refugees  in  the  same  work  were  treated  and  exe 
cuted  as  traitors." 

About  this  time,  the  Loyalists  began  openly  to 
declare  their  intention  of  entering  on  a  course  of 
retaliation.  The  confiscation  of  their  estates  had 

was  also  taken  and  can  sympathize  at  leisure,  en  provost  with  his 
mongrel  friend  Vantassal  on  the  disastrous  condition  of  their  paper 
piastres,  the  dwindling  number  of  Mr.  Washington's  scal'd  miser- 
ables,  and  the  chap-fallen  countenances  "  (of  the  delegates  of  the 
Continental  Congress). 

1  Rivington's  Gazette,  June  5,  1779. 

2  "Acts    of  New    Jersey"    (1775-83),   p.   83.     Congress  also 
acted  in  the  matter  of  abductions.     See  "Journals  of  Congress," 
Vol.  IV.,  February  27,  1778. 


UNDER    THE  KING'S  STANDARD.          \^ 

begun  under  the  Whig  direction,  and  their  persons 
had  been  proscribed.  Now,  "  actuated  by  the  eld 
est  law  of  nature,"  they  believed  themselves  justi 
fied  in  making  retaliations  and  reprisals.  They, 
therefore,  declared  themselves  the  avowed  enemies 
of  the  rebels,  and  would  at  once  begin  hostilities. 
They  did  not  propose  to  involve  the  innocent  with 
the  guilty,  and,  if,  in  any  expedition,  the  property 
of  some  peaceful  loyal  subject  should  by  mistake 
be  injured,  the  Loyalists  would  make  good  the 
damage.1 

The  Loyal  Associated  Refugees  living  under  the 
British  protection  at  Newport,  R.  I.,  came  to  a  like 
decision.  They  were  sorry  that  the  "  hardened  ob 
stinacy  "  of  the  Whigs  had  forced  the  Tories  to  arm 
against  them  for  justifiable  revenge.  They  had 
wished  America  to  be  reclaimed  rather  than  sub 
dued.  Now  that  such.  a  consummation  was  impos 
sible,  they  would  make  war  —  but  only  on  the 
guilty.2  This  would  enable  "the  much-injured 
Loyalists  "  to  "  do  themselves  justice  upon  their 
rebellious  countrymen." 

Supported  in  such  resolutions  by  Governor  Tryon, 
the  Loyalists  of  New  York  set  out  upon  the  expe 
dition  which  laid  Fairfield  and  Norwalk  in  ashes 
and  burned  the  ships  in  New  Haven  harbor,  as  well 
as  a  part  of  the  town,  before  the  yeomanry  in  the 
vicinity  drove  the  marauders  away.  Tryon  said 


s  Gazette,  February  13,  1779. 
*Ibid.,  July  14,  1779. 

13 


178  THE  LOYALISTS. 

that  the  refugees  possessed  a  zeal  which,  with  their 
intimate  knowledge  of  the  country,  rendered  them 
very  useful  on  such  expeditions.1 

Their  effectiveness  in  such  warfare  was  greatly 
augmented  by  a  kind  of  enterprise  which  has,  so 
far,  been  unnoticed,  but  the  beginning  of  which 
somewhat  antedates  this  attack  on  New  Haven. 
Privateering  had  been  discouraged  by  the  British 
government  as  long  as  there  was  any  hope  of  con 
ciliating  the  colonists ;  but,  when  that  hope  was 
gone,  ready  sanction  was  given,  to. _ any. means  of 
making 'war  a  greater  curseA 

Early  in  1779,  the  gazettes  announced  that  some 
of  the  principal  loyal  ladies  of  New  York  proposed 
to  subscribe  money  for  fitting  out  a  privateer  to  be 
called  the  "  Fair  American."  The  obsequious  edi 
tors  remarked  that  there  was  no  doubt  that  this 
privateer  would  be  "  extremely  well  manned  with 
gallant  youths."  The  whimsical  Rivington  thought 
that  the  rebels  ought  to  be  ashamed  to  have 
aroused  the  indignation  of  the  fair  sex,  "  whose 
natural  characteristics  are  gentleness  and  benevo 
lence."2 

1  Rivington1 s  Gazette  y  July  20,  1779. 

*  Ibid.,  January  6,  1779.  A  few  days  later,  January  16,  a 
rhymster  attempted  to  immortalize  the  theme.  The  essential  lines 
— if  there  are:such — are  as  follows  : 

"  Hail,  Lovely  Fair  !  who  grace  that  safe  retreat 
Where  Britain's  friends  in  cordial  union  meet. 

Since  your  sweet  bosoms  loyal  ardors  feel 


UNDER    THE   KING'S  STANDARD.  l*J9 

The  British  government  had  been  importuned  by 
Tryon,  for  some  time,  to  issue  letters  of  marque  and 
reprisal.  It  now  yielded  l  to  the  pressure,  and,  in  a 
short  time,  the  refugees  were  being  allured  by  every 
device  to  enlist  in  these  enterprises.  Broadsides 
urged  them  to  call  at  the  tavern  "  Sign  of  St.  An 
drew,"  the  store  ship  "  Leviathan,"  or  other  rendez 
vous,  and  learn  the  advantages  of  this  or  that 
"  superb  and  elegant  ship."  All  "  gentlemen  sail 
ors  or  able  bodied  landsmen  "  were  wanted.  The 
most  ample  encouragement  would  be  given  refu 
gees  ;  solely  that  those  brave  men  who  had  suffered 
in  the  cause  of  their  country  might  have  a  chance 
to  repair  their  losses  at  the  expense  of  their  perfidi 
ous  enemies.  There  was  some  rivalry  between 
those  ships  which  only  proposed  to  ravage  the 
coasts  and  those  intending  long  voyages.  A  re 
cruiting  officer  for  one  of  the  latter  declared,  with 
a  sneer,  that  "seamen  of  spirit"  would  prefer  rich 

Assured  be  that  every  honest  man 

Will  idolize  the  Fair  American. 
Brave  loyal  Tars,  with  Hearts  of  Oak  will  vie, 

For  you  to  fight,  to  conquer,  live  or  die  ; 

With  equal  haste  the  French  and  Rebels  beat, 
As  if  they  rushed  your  lovely  lips  to  meet. 


Thus  when  Rebellion,  to  her  native  Hell, 
With  Diaboliads,  is  confined  to  dwell  : 

Your  gallant  youths,  will  claim  no  higher  prize 
Than  New  York  nymphs  in  chaste  endearing  ties. 

1  "New  York  Colonial  MSS.,"  Vol.  VIII.,  740-764. 


I  So  THE   LOYALISTS. 

French  prizes  "to  piddling  along  shore  in  boats."1 
Even  the  nature  of  the  armament  was  described  for 
the  conviction  of  the  reader.  One  mounted  sixteen 
six-pounders,  cohorns  and  swivels,  with  hand  gren 
ades,  fire  arrows  and  every  necessary  implement 
of  war.  Another,  appealing  to  a  different  constitu 
ency,  was  well  stocked  with  wholesome  provisions 
and  a  sufficient  stock  of  "  the  Creature,  which 
warms,  cherishes,  and  stimulates  the  heart  of  the 
seaman  in  cold  weather."  The  "  never  exhausted 
floating  wealth  of  the  Spaniard,  the  Frenchman, 
and  remnant  of  the  Rebel,  points  out  an  ample 
field  upon  which  the  seaman  may  reap  a  golden 
harvest."  2 

The  near-shore  fleet  of  small  boats  could  not  pre 
sent  such  Pactolian  temptations,  but  they,  too,  hinted 
that  profit  and  honor  were  "inseparably  blended." 
Every  member  of  that  "  determined  band  of  Loy 
alists  "  should  receive  five  pounds  advance  and 
three  pounds  per  month  and  one  share  in  all  prop 
erty  taken. 

The  service  was  evidently  popular,  for  the  com 
manders  of  the  British  fleet  began  to  complain  that 
the  manning  of  the  privateers  was  done  at  their  ex 
pense.  They  demanded  that  the  practice  cease,  and 
threatened  to  impress  all  of  a  crew  found  to  have  a 
single  British  seaman.  Finally  they  actually  began 

1  Rivington's  Gazette,  April  7,  1779,  and  July  25,  1779. 

zlbid.,  November  27,  1779.  Recruits  were  to  receive  three 
pounds  above  the  King's  bounty,  a  suit  of  clothes,  and  fifty  acres  of 
good  land  in  New  York.  See  July  25,  1779. 


UNDER    THE   KIN& S  STANDARD.  l8l 

taking  man  for  man  out  of  the  privateers  and  mer 
chant  vessels.1  Nevertheless,  the  work  of  the  pri 
vateers  was  heartily  approved  by  the  British  gov 
ernment.  Lord  Germain  was  greatly  pleased  "  to 
find  the  spirit  of  annoying  the  commerce  of  the 
King's  Enemies  "  had  increased  among  the  Loyal 
ists,  and  that  their  efforts  had  been  attended  with 
private  benefit  as  well  as  public  advantage.2 

The  direction  of  the  whole  enterprise  was  later 
entrusted  to  a  board  of  directors,  consisting  of  the 
principal  loyalists  from  each  American  province. 
The  officers  who  commanded  the  associated  ref 
ugees  were  approved  by  this  board,  and  commis 
sioned  by  the  British  commander-in-chief.  The 
latter  furnished  the  shipping,  as  well  as  the  arms  and 
rations,  and  provided  for  the  care  of  sick  and 
wounded  in  the  King's  hospital.  Captures  made 
without  the  aid  of  the  British  regulars  were  shared 
by  the  refugees  concerned.3  Their  sailors  were  not 
to  be  impressed,  and  their  prisoners  were  to  be 
exchanged  only  for  Loyalists.  As  concerned  the 
object  of  their  undertaking,  the  board  "  appealed  to 
God  who  is  the  searcher  of  all  hearts  "  to  witness 
that  they  had  no  wish  to  prolong  the  horrors  of 
war,  but  hoped  to  "  emancipate  the  country  from 
Republican  tyranny." 

1  Rivingtori*  s  Gazette,  October  9,  1779. 

2  «  New  York  Colonial  MSS.,"  Vol.  VIII.,  764. 

3  See  the  Proclamation  of  Dec.  28,  1780,  in  Rivington1  s  Gazette, 
Dec.  30,  1780,  where  the  names  of  the  members  of  the  board  are 
given. 


I §2  THE   LOYALISTS. 

From  a  station  at  Lloyd's  Neck,  which  was  as 
signed  to  them,1  the  fleet  of  associated  Loyalists 
made  repeated  attacks  upon  the  whole  New  Eng 
land  coast.  So  many  of  these  marauding  ventures 
went  forth  under  the  cover  of  night  that  "  owls  and 
ghosts,  and  thieves  and  Tories  "  came  to  be  closely 
associated  in  Whig  minds.  Many  of  these  attacks 
were  of  a  most  petty  nature,  and  resulted  only  in 
captures  of  sheep,  poultry,  cattle,  wood,  corn,  and 
an  occasional  Whig  who  had  tried  to  resist  their 
predatory  attempts.  Annoying  as  it  was,  it  lacked 
dignity,  and  the  Whig  newspapers  explained  that 
the  British  at  New  York,  "  heartily  fatigued  with 
having  so  many  importunate  hungry  Tories  hang 
ing  upon  them,  have  come  to  a  kind  of  compromise 
with  these  wretches.  They  are  now  to  prowl  for 
their  own  living  and  maintain  their  families  by 
plunder  and  robbery."  2  A  natural  result  of  this 
method  of  attack  was  to  invite  retaliation  by  the 
Whigs  and  to  help  evolve  that  hatred  of  the  Tory 
which  persisted  long  after  the  other  wounds  of  the 
war  were  healed. 

The  real  service  rendered  the  British  by  the 
Tories  was  not  through  these  associated  bands  but 
by  the  thousands  of  individuals  who  enlisted  in  the 
regular  army.  New  York  alone  furnished  about 
15,000  men  to  the  British  army  and  navy,  and  over 

1  Onderdonck's   "Revolutionary  Incidents  of  Long  Island,"  p. 
22O  et  seq. 

2  Moore's  "Diary  of  the  Revolution,"  Vol.  II.,  152. 


UNDER    THE  KINGS  STANDARD.  183 

8,000  loyalist  militia.1  All  of  the  other  colonies  fur 
nished  about  as  many  more,  so  that  we  may  safely 
state  that  50,000  soldiers,  either  regular  or  militia, 
were  drawn  into  the  service  of  Great  Britain  from 
her  American  sympathizers. 

It  is  not  in  the  province  of  this  work  to  tell  again 
the  story  of  those  campaigns  in  which  the  Loyal 
ists  played  a  subordinate  or  even  a  principal  part. 
Those  campaigns  have  been  described  too  often 
and  too  well  to  require  a  repetition.  It  will  suffice 
simply  to  recall  those  events,  that  the  summary  may 
remind  us  of  the  important  role  played  by  the  Tory 
volunteer  in  the  Revolution. 

In  addition  to  the  work  of  Bjutler^and  Johnson 
on  the  New  York  frontier,  it  is  not  to  be  forgotten 
that  Tories  formed  no  inconsiderable  part  in  the 
invading  force  of  Burgoyne.  Even  when  they  failed 
actually  to  join  his  army,  their  known  presence  in 
large  numbers  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  region 
prevented  the  Whig  militia  from  joining  the  Amer 
ican  forces.2  The  British  forces  were  greatly  aided 
also,  in  the  matter  of  supplies,  by  the  Tory  inhabi 
tants.  Even  after  the  surrender,  many  of  the  soldiers 
were  aided  to  escape  by  sympathizing  friends  among 
the  Americans.3 

1  Flick,  "  Loyalism  in  New  York,"  p.  112.  This  fairly  agrees 
with  my  own  estimate,  made  from  various  inexact  sources,  such  as 
the  newspaper  estimates  and  general  statements  made  in  proclama- 

tirmc     f»tr* 


2Clinton's  "Papers,"  Vol.  II.,  p.  193. 

3  Galloway's  Examination,  published  by  the  '76    Society, 


184  THE   LOYALISTS. 

All  of  the  frontier  warfare  seems  to  have  been 
Carried  on  by  Tory  bands  in  league  with  the 
[ndians.  The  southern  frontier,  in  1776-77,  was 
ravaged  by  Tory  guerrillas  and  Indians,  and  it  was 
chiefly  the  Tories  who  were  relied  upon  to  aid  the 
few  British  regulars  in  preserving  British  control 
of  the  Northwest.  When  George  Rogers  Clark 
attacked  Vincennes,  he  defeated  some  500  Tories, 
regulars  and  Indians,  and  he  found  them  in  other 
posts  in  the  disputed  country. 

In  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  there  were, 
throughout  the  war,  small  bands  of  Tories  carrying 
on  a  bitter  internecine  war  with  the  Whigs.  After 
the  capture  of  Savannah  by  the  British,  and  when 
the  timid  inhabitants  of  Georgia  had  all  sworn  their 
allegiance  to  save  their  property,  an  attempt  was 
made  by  the  Whigs  of  the  neighboring  states  to  re 
gain  the  lost  territory.  When  North  Carolina  sent 
2,000  Whigs  for  this  purpose,  some  700  Tories 
started  to  counteract  this  force.  As  the  latter  were 
marching  across  South  Carolina,  they  were  defeated 
by  Col.  Pickens  ;  and  those  who  were  taken  pris 
oners  were  tried  by  a  civil  court  and  five  of  them 
hanged.  The  Tory  commandant,  at  Augusta,  at 
once  retaliated  by  hanging  some  of  his  Whig  pris 
oners.  That  was  sufficient  to  begin  a  long  series 
of  reprisals  and  greatly  embitter  the  party  strife  in 
the  South. 

Not  only  did  large  numbers  of  Tory  soldiers  go 
with  the  British  forces  for  the  invasion  of  the  South, 


UNDER    THE  KING'S  STANDARD.  185 

but  many  refugees  and  deserters  joined  them  after 
their  first  success.  By  October,  1779,  nearly  two 
thirds  of  the  British  troops  in  Savannah  were 
Tories.1  Early  in  the  year,  General  Prevost  had 
proclaimed  that  the  laws  in  force  in  1775  were  re 
stored  until  a  loyal  legislature  could  be  convened. ~ 
Wright,  the .  royal  governor,  was  reinstated.  The 
inhabitants  had  been  urged  to  come  under  the  royal 
standard,  and  the  intimation  given  them  that  only 
by  supporting  the  British  cause  with  arms  could 
they  be  protected.3  This  pressure  forced  many 
into  the  ranks  ;  and  it  was  this  garrison  chiefly  which 
defeated  the  French  admiral's  attempt  (in  conjunc 
tion  with  the  Americans  under  General  Lincoln)  to 
capture  Savannah,  in  September  and  October  of  that 
year. 

When,  in  the  next  year,  Sir  Henry  Clinton  cap 
tured  Charleston,  his  force  contained  a  large  body 
of  Tories,4  and,  in  the  internecine  warfare  which  fol 
lowed,  small  bands  of  Tories  kept  up  a  continual 
struggle  with  the  Patriot  leaders,  Sumter,  Pickens 
and  Marion. 

At  this  juncture  began  the  famous  career  of 
Tarleton  and  his  Tory  "  Legion,"  which  he  had 
raised  in  New  York.  In  the  wild  warfare  with  the 

'"Stevens'  Facsimiles,"  No.  2016. 

*  Rivingtori*  s  Gazette,  March  27,  1779. 

3 Ibid.,  February^  1779. 

*McCrady,  "  South  Carolina  in  the  Revolution,"  pp.  446,448, 
510.  A  list  of  Tory  regiments  from  the  North  which  fought  in 
South  Carolina  is  here  given. 


1 86  THE  LOYALISTS. 

partisan  commanders,  Sumter  and  Marion,  no  Brit 
ish  force  came  so  bravely  off,  for  a  time,  as  did  Tar- 
leton  and  his  Loyal  Cavalry.  When  the  battle  of 
Camden  was  fought,  it  was  Tarleton's  cavalry  and 
Rawdon's  Volunteers  of  Ireland,  raised  in  Pennsyl 
vania,  that  carried  the  day.  Nearly  2,400  refugees 
took  part  in  that  terrible  defeat  of  Gates,1  and  the 
Tories  in  New  York  took  special  delight  in  accounts 
of  this  battle,  because  they  felt  that  it  was  their  vic 
tory.  They  taunted  Gates  in  prose  and  rhyme  ;  and 
mock  advertisements  were  hung  up  offering  millions 
reward  for  a  whole  army,  horse,  foot  and  dragoons, 
strayed  or  stolen  from  the  subscriber,  near  Camden, 
South  Carolina.  The  owner,  Horatio  Gates,  sus 
pected  that  Cornwallis  had  stolen  them.2 

This  triumph  of  Tory  arms  was  quickly  followed 
by  an  engagement  in  which  Tarleton  defeated  Sum 
ter  and  took  some  300  prisoners.  The  Loyalists' 
exultation  was  only  marred  by  the  defeat  of  some 
500  of  their  number 3  by  Colonel  Williams,  one  of 
the  Whig  leaders. 

The  proclamation  of  Clinton,  requiring  all  people 
of  South  Carolina  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  re- 
establishment  of  the  royal  government,  had  resulted 
rather  in  antagonizing  the  indifferent  people  than  in 
winning  them  to  the  Loyal  side.  When  the  de 
tachments  were  sent  into  the  country  to  force  the 

1  Rivingtori1  s  Gazette,  September  20,  1780. 

2  Ibid.,  September  16,  1780. 

3  There  were  some  British  in  the  force. 


UNDER    THE  KING "S  STANDARD.  187 

inhabitants  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance,  the  work 
was  unwisely  left  too  much  in  Tory  hands.  These 
men  often  had  old  scores  to  settle,  and  their  rough 
methods  led  to  bloodshed  and  fierce  reprisals. 
Now,  when  even  the  indifferent  had  been  aroused 
and  forced  into  action,  Cornwallis,  before  starting 
for  the  conquest  of  North  Carolina,  detached  Colo 
nel  Ferguson^  next  to  Tarleton  the  best  of  his  par 
tisan  officers,  to  enter  the  highlands  of  South  Caro 
lina,  enlist  all  the  Tories  he  could  find,  and  rejoin 
the  British  army  at  Charlotte.  As  Ferguson  with 
a  thousand  Tories  and  a  few  British  infantry  pene 
trated  the  hills  of  the  back  country,  he  was  sur 
rounded  by  constantly  growing  bands  of  frontiers 
men  ;  and,  after  endeavoring  to  escape,  made  a  stand 
on  the  top  of  King's  Mountain.  From  that  posi 
tion,  with  a  characteristic  Tory  sentiment,  he  chal 
lenged  "  all  the  rebels  outside  of  hell "  to  dis 
lodge  him  ;  and  it  seemed  as  if  most  of  them  were 
there  when  the  attack  began  from  behind  every  tree 
on  the  mountain  side.  No  human  heart  could  stand 
the  steady,  ruthless  advance  of  those  Indian  hunt 
ers,  and,  when  at  last  Ferguson  himself  was  killed, 
the  white  flag  was  raised  and  over  700  Tories  sur 
rendered  as  prisoners  of  war,  while  the  rest  of  the 
detachment  lay  dead  or  wounded  on  the  field. 

Hardly  had  this  terrible  blow  to  Tory  hopes  be 
come  known,  when  Tarleton,  on  whose  career  all 
loyal  eyes  were  turned,  received  a  defeat  of  no 
great  moment  from  Sumter's  guerrillas.  Two 


1 88  THE  LOYALISTS. 

months  later,  however,  at  the  battle  of  the  Cow- 
pens,  Tarleton's  Tory  force  was  entirely  destroyed 
by  Daniel  Morgan. 

Meanwhile  the  terrible  tragedy  of  Benedict  Ar 
nold's  treason  had  been  enacted,  and  Arnold,  in  New 
York,  attempted  to  assume  the  part  of  a  loyal 
American  whose  past,  and  not  his  present,  was  in 
error.  With  the  approval  of  the  British  com 
mander  he  issued  a  proclamation  to  the  "  officers 
and  soldiers  of  the  Continental  Army."  1  All  who 
had  the  real  interest  of  their  country  at  heart,  and 
who  were  determined  to  be  no  longer  the  tools  and 
dupes  of  Congress  were  invited  to  join  a  corps  of 
cavalry  and  infantry.  They  should  have  rank  in 
the  King's  service  proportioned  to  their  former 
rank,  and  should  be  paid  as  the  British  troops  were 
paid.  This  chosen  band  of  Americans  he  wished  to 
lead  to  the  attainment  of  peace.  He  believed  that 
all  would  be  glad  to  escape  from  the  neglect,  con 
tempt  and  corruption  of  Congress.  He  asked  rhet 
orically  whether  they  knew  that  "  the  eye  which 
guides  this  pen  lately  saw  your  mean  and  profligate 
Congress  at  mass  for  the  soul  of  a  Roman  Catholic 
in  Purgatory."  When  he  had  organized  a  regiment 
of  some  i, 600  men,  chiefly  New  York  loyalists,  he 
was  sent  by  Clinton  to  Virginia.  After  a  career  of 
plundering  and  burning  in  that  state,  he  was  re 
called,  and  Tarleton,  who  had  escaped  when  his 
force  was  destroyed  at  the  Cowpens,  became  again 

1  Rivington"1 's  Gazette,  November  I,  1780. 


UNDER    THE  KING'S  STANDARD.  189 

the  center  of  Tory  interest.  He  made  some  bril 
liant  raids  of  which  the  most  famous  was-  his  at 
tempt  to  capture  Thomas  Jefferson  at  Monticello, 
which  failed  only  because  the  intended  victim  was 
forewarned  and  fled  from  his  home.  Thus  to  the 
last  act  of  the  war,  Tories  were  active  as  members 
of  provincial  corps  in  the  British  army. 

When  the  surrender  at  Yorktown  was  made, 
Cornwallis  wished  to  provide  for  the  safety  of  the 
large  number  of  Loyalists  in  his  army  by  a  clause 
in  the  articles  of  capitulation,  stating  that  Loyalists 
should  not  be  punished  on  account  of  having  joined 
the  British  army.1  To  this  Washington  refused 
assent,  on  the  ground  that  this  was  a  matter  of  civil 
character.  The  difficulty  was  disposed  of,  how 
ever,  by  permitting  a  British  ship  to  depart  for 
New  York  with  the  news  of  surrender  and  such 
troops  as  Cornwallis  might  choose  to  send  with  it. 
In  this  vessel  were  huddled  the  forlorn  Loyalists, 
glad,  even  in  this  plight,  to  regain  their  friends  and 
to  escape  the  fury  of  their  enraged  countrymen. 

'Lossing's  "Field  Book  of  the  Revolution,"  Vol.  II.,  317. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

UNDER    THE    BAN    OF    THE   LAW. 

THE  chapters  on  the  activity  of  the  Tories  help 
us  to  a  better  appreciation  of  the  Whig  hatred  of 
|  his  political  opponent.  The  average  Patriot  seemed 
'*  unable  to  view  the  Loyalist  in  any  other  light  than 
as  a  traitor.  They  finally  came  to  make  no  dis- 
5  tinction  between  Benedict  Arnold  and  a  Tory  who 
had  consistently  opposed  the  Revolution  from  its 
very  inception.  As  the  war  advanced  and  one 
outrage  after  another  was  attributed  to  natural  Tory 
depravity,  the  Whigs  forgot  that  these  men  had 
been  their  respected  neighbors,  and  believed  them 
to  be  born  with  a  natural  ferocity  like  the  savage. 
The  common  idea,  of  the  menace  to  the  community 
which  a  Tory  had  become,  is  admirably  summed 
up  in  an  exhortation  addressed  to  the  inhabitants 
of  Philadelphia  in  I/79-1 

"  Rouse,  America  !  your  danger  is  great, —  great 
from  a  quarter  where  you  least  expect  it.  The 
Tories,  the  Tories  will  yet  be  the  ruin  of  you  !  'Tis 
high  time  they  were  separated  from  among  you. 
They  are  now  busy  engaged  in  undermining  your 
liberties.  They  have  a  thousand  ways  of  doing  it, 
and  they  make  use  of  them  all.  Who  were  the 

1  Moore's ''Diary,"   Vol.  II.,  166. 
190 


UNDER    THE  BAN  OF   THE  LAW.  191 

occasion  of  this  war  ?  The  Tories  !  Who  persuaded 
the  tyrant  of  Britain  to  prosecute  it  in  a  manner 
before  unknown  to  civilized  nations,  and  shocking 
even  to  barbarians  ?  The  Tories  !  Who  prevailed  on 
the  savages  of  the  wilderness  to  join  the  standard 
of  the  enemy  ?  The  Tories  !  Who  have  assisted 
the  Indians  in  taking  the  scalp  from  the  aged  mat 
ron,  the  blooming  fair  one,  the  helpless  infant  and 
the  dying  hero  ?  The  Tories  !  Who  advised  and 
who  assisted  in  burning  your  towns,  ravaging  your 
country  and  violating  the  chastity  of  your  women  ? 
The  Tories  !  Who  are  the  occasion  that  thousands 
of  you  now  mourn  the  loss  of  your  dearest  connec 
tions  ?  The  Tories  !  Who  have  always  counteracted 
the  endeavors  of  Congress  to  secure  the  liberties 
of  this  country  ?  The  Tories  !  Who  refused  their 
money  when  as  good  as  specie  though  stamped 
with  the  image  of  his  most  sacred  Majesty  ?  The 
Tories  !  Who  continue  to  refuse  it  ?  The  Tories  ! 
Who  do  all  in  their  power  to  depreciate  it  ?  The 
Tories  !  Who  propagate  lies  among  us  to  discour 
age  the  Whigs  ?  The  Tories  !  Who  corrupt  the 
minds  of  the  good  people  of  these  States  by  every 
species  of  insidious  counsel  ?  The  Tories  !  Who 
hold  a  traitorous  correspondence  with  the  enemy  ? 
The  Tories  !  Who  daily  send  them  intelligence  ? 
The  Tories  !  Who  take  the  oaths  of  allegiance  to 
the  States  one  day  and  break  them  the  next  ?  The 
Tories  !  Who  prevent  your  battalions  from  being 
filled  ?  The  Tories  !  Who  dissuade  men  from  en- 


192  THE  LOYALISTS. 

tering  the  army  ?  The  Tories  !  Who  persuade  those 
who  have  enlisted  to  desert  ?  The  Tories  !  Who 
harbor  those  who  do  desert  ?  The  Tories  !  In 
short,  who  wish  to  see  us  conquered,  to  see  us 
slaves,  to  see  us  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of 
water  ?  The  Tories  !  " 

It  is  little  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  Whigs,  who 
believed  in  this  terrible  indictment,  were  ready  to 
deprive  these  desperate  characters  of  all  the  natural 
rights  of  law-abiding  citizens.  They  must,  of  course, 
deprive  them  of  all  those  political  rights  which  might 
help  them  to  ruin  the  state.  They  must  place  such 
restrictions  upon  them  as  would  protect  their 
neighbors  from  their  malevolence.  Every  privi 
lege  must  be  denied  them  that  might  lend  aid  to 
their  "  wicked  designs."  The  popular  definition  of 
a  Tory  intimated  very  plainly  the  only  fate  of 
which  they  were  thought  worthy.  "  A  Tory  is  a 
thing  whose  head  is  -in  England,  and  its  body  in 
America,  and  its  neck  ought  to  be  stretched." 

On  the  ground  that  only  citizens  should  be  al 
lowed  the  right  to  vote,  and  that  those  who  had 
not  taken  an  oath  of  allegiance  were  not  citizens. 
the  Tory  was  early  deprived  of  his  vote  in  every 
state.1  To  prevent  his  voting,  the  inspectors  of 
election  were  made  liable  to  a  heavy  fine  if  they  did 
not  make  certain  by  some  reliable  voucher  that 
every  voter  was  of  Patriot  sympathies.  The  Loyal- 


1  See  analysis  of  laws  in  theappendia 
this  chapter,  as  facts  may  be  verified  in 


1  See  analysis  of  laws  in  theaendix.     I  shall  omit  references  in 

in  the  appendix. 


UNDER    THE   BAN  OF   THE   LAW.  193 

ist  who  ventured  to  vote  in  spite  of  this  prohibition 
could  be  prosecuted  and  heavily  fined  or  imprisoned. 

The  right  to  hold  any  office  of  trust  or  profit  irl 
the  state  was  also  prohibited.  No  man  who  coula 
speak  of  the  members  of  Congress  indiscriminately 
as  "ambitious  incendiaries"  or  as  "indigent  men, 
bankrupt  both  in  fortune  and  character  "  could  be 
given  any  chance  to  influence  their  fortunes,  how 
ever  remotely.  These  "parricides,"  who  had 
"  plunged  their  once  happy  country  into  a  flood  of 
miseries,"  therefore  enacted  a  law1  which  debarred 
all  men,  who  had  not  given  proof  of  their  fidelity  to 
the  United  States,  from  holding  any  office,  civil  or 
military  under  Congress.2 

In  the  courts  of  law,  not  even  the  rights  of  a  for-1 
eigner  were  left  to  the  loyalist.  If  his  neighbors 
owed  him  money,  he  had  no  legal  redress  until  he 
took  an  oath  that  he  favored  American  independ 
ence.  All  legal  action  was  denied  him.  He  might 
be  assaulted,  insulted,  blackmailed  or  slandered, 
though  the  law  did  not  state  it  so  baldly,  yet  he  had 
no  recourse  in  law.  No  relative  or  friend  could 
leave  an  orphan  child  to  his  guardianship.  He  could 
be  the  executor  or  administrator  of  no  man's  estate. 
He  could  neither  buy  land  nor  transfer  it  to  another. 

'In  February  of  1778. 

2  In  the  law  of  Pennsylvania,  which  excluded  Loyalists  from  all 
other  orifices,  was  a  curious  clause  which  stated  that  this  did  not 
exempt  them  from  serving  as  supervisor  of  the  highways,  collector 
of  public  taxes  and  overseer  of  the  poor.  It  is  very  strong  evidence 
that  these  offices  were  not  considered  desirable. 


194  THE   LOYALISTS. 

The  legal  right  to  dispose  of  his  own  fortune  at  his 
death  was  refused  him.  Even  his  deed  of  gift  was 
fn'Valid.  Except  for  the  divine  sanction  implied,  it 
was  worse  than  excommunication.  His  property 
was  left  .completely  at  the  mercy  of  his  fellow  men. 
There  is  good  evidence  that  confiscation,  though 
delayed  until  the  general  issue  was  more  certain, 
was  early  in  the  minds  of  prominent  patriots,  and 
this  accounts  for  the  effort  to  prevent  the  Loyalist 
from  selling  his  property. 

It  was  only  when  the  war  fever  ran  the  highest, 
in  the  eastern  and  southern  states  and  in  Pennsyl 
vania,  that  the  laws  reached  the  degree  of  severity 
indicated  in  the  preceding  paragraph.  Massa 
chusetts  and  the  several  central  states  did  not  carry 
the  attack  on  the  Loyalist  to  this  extreme.  Rhode 
Island,  however,  went  so  far  as  to  enact  that  all 
executions,  already  issued  to  persons  who  had  not 
taken  the  oath,  be  returned  to  the  officers  unsatisfied, 
and  even  persons  already  committed  on  such  execu 
tions  were  to  be  discharged  from  prison. 

Most  of  the  states  forbade  anyone  to  serve  as  a 
[  juryman  who  had  no  certificate  of  his  fidelity  to  the 
state.  Any  violation  of  this  law  was  punished  with 
fine  and  imprisonment.  No  man,  however,  who 
was  known  to  have  Tory  tendencies,  was  likely  to 
be  chosen  on  a  jury.  That  these  prohibitions  are 
to  be  found  in  the  laws  is  important  chiefly,  because 
it  proves  that  such  measures  had  the  approbation 
of  men  high  in  authority.  It  is  not  strange  that,  in 


UNDER    THE  BAN  OF  THE   LAW.  195 

the  rage  of  civil  war,  the  rabble  should  make  all 
practical  justice  impossible  for  its  opponents,  but 
that  theoretical  justice  should  be  refused  by  the  leg 
islators  shows  the  bitterness  of  the  civil  strife. 

Legislative  efforts  to  prevent  Tory  influence  in  the 
courts  not  only  restricted  the  use  of  legal  machin 
ery,  but  placed  disqualifications  upon  legal  practi 
tioners.  The  state  of  New  York  made  a  well-de 
fined  attack  upon  Tory  members  of  the  bar.1  Every 
man  of  the  legal  profession,  who  had  been  licensed 
to  plead  or  practice  in  the  courts,  must  produce  a 
certificate  of  his  attachment  to  the  "  liberties  and 
independence  of  America."  Those  who  failed  to 
do  so,  and  others  already  guilty  of  overt  acts 
had  their  licenses  suspended.  To  regain  their 
privileges  they  might  apply  to  the  superior  court, 
and  it  would  order  a  sheriff  to  summon  eight  to  six 
teen  freeholders,  for  an  inquisition.  This  body  de 
cided  the  status  of  the  individual  and  restored  him 
to  his  privileges,  if  he  proved  himself  a  faithful  Whig. 

Two  years  before,  New  Jersey  had  closed  her 
courts  to  councillors  and  attorneys-at-law  who  were 
known  as  Loyalists.  Pennsylvania  added  clerks, 
notaries  and  sergeants-at-law  to  the  proscribed  list. 
>The  ministerial  as  well  as  the  advisory  legal  system 
was  thus  purged.  The  Loyalist  had  said  bitterly 
that  the  new  Patriot  officials  had  rather  "  rule  in 
Hell,  than  serve  in  Heaven,"  with  the  suggestion  that 
the  service  of  Great  Britain  was  the  celestial  em- 

!In  October  of  1779. 


196  THE   LOYALISTS. 

ployment  referred  to.  The  Patriot  retort  was  the 
prohibition  of  legal  practice  to  the  Loyalist. 

The  forbidding  men  to  pursue  their  professions, 
outside  of  the  law,  was  a  refinement  of  persecution 
to  which  most  of  the  thirteen  legislatures  refused  to 
give  their  sanction.  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania 
were  the  most  noteworthy  exceptions.  The  legis 
lation  of  the  former  preceded  by  several  months  the 
action  of  the  latter  on  the  subject,  but  the  act  of 
Pennsylvania  was  more  comprehensive. 

While  the  British  were  in  Philadelphia,  and  the 
legislature's  wrath  was  at  its  height,  an  "  act  for  the 
further  security  of  the  government  "  struck  a  blow 
at  every  Loyalist  of  influence.  Some  of  the  trus 
tees  of  the  College  of  Philadelphia  had  already  had 
their  powers  suspended  ;  but  they  were  now  inca 
pacitated  in  law  from  holding  the  office.  All  rec 
tors,  professors,  masters  and  tutors  of  any  college, 
if  they  had  Tory  sympathies,  might  be  prosecuted 
for  performing  their  duties.  The  prosecutor  was 
encouraged  by  the  promise  of  one  half  the  penalty 
of  ^"500  that  might  be  inflicted.  The  same  penalty 
was  incurred  by  any  schoolmaster  who  pursued  his 
vocation  without  a  certificate  of  his  love  of  America 
and  her  independence. 

A  New  Jersey  law,  passed  several  months  pre 
viously,  made  the  same  prohibition,  but  the  law- 
•,  makers  felt  constrained  to  explain  their  action. 
They  stated  that  it  was  "  of  the  last  moment  to  a 
free  and  independent  state  that  the  rising  generation 


UNDER  THE  BAN  OF   THE   LAW.  197 

should  be  early  instructed  in  the  principles  of  public 
virtue  and  duly  impressed  with  the  amiable  ideas  of 
liberty  and  patriotism,  and  at  the  same  time  inspired 
with  the  keenest  abhorrence  of  despotic  and  arbitrary 
power."  They  emphasized  the  fact  that  "  public 
teachers  and  instructors  may  be  greatly  instru 
mental  in  tincturing  the  youthful  mind  with  such 
impressions  either  in  favor  of  a  just  and  equal  ad 
ministration  or  of  a  slavish  submission  to  lawless 
rule,  as  in  their  riper  years  are  not  easily  obliter 
ated."  The  sentimental  defense  as  well  as  the  law 
were  quite  unnecessary,  for  no  Patriot,  at  that  stage 
of  the  war,  would  knowingly  send  children  to  a  Tory  l 
schoolmaster.  The  Pennsylvania  law  had  added 
druggists  and  apothecaries  to  the  list  of  professions 
denied  the  Tory,  but  rumor  and  slander,  aided  by 
personal  spite,  had  already  taken  care  of  the  Tory 
apothecaries.  It  was  common  gossip  that  they 
wittingly  made  mistakes,  and  that  all  their  drugs 
were  more  or  less  poisoned.  How  could  any  one 
trust  a  Tory,  who  was  a  "  son  of  that  infernal 
monster "  which  "  bestrides  our  harbor,  shading 
the  ocean  with  his  lowering  brow,  and  yawns  with 
horrid  jaws  for  the  innocent  blood  of  this  conti 
nent  "? 

The  same  may  be  said  of  loyal  physicians   or  } 
surgeons.      Many  a  story  of  a  lucrative    practice  I 
ruined  was  told  to  the  British  commissioners  when 
they  heard  the  Loyalist  claims  after  the   war.     A 
Maryland  surgeon,  who  evidently  was  not  a  rabid 


198  THE   LOYALISTS. 

Loyalist,  testified  that  his  business  gradually  de 
clined  until  he  had  none.      People  were  afraid  to 
^employ  him,  he  said. 

Merchants  and  traders  did  not  escape  this  search- 
ling  legislative  persecution,  but  it  was  needless.  A 
Tory  was  a  social  leper,  and  it  was  only  by  great 
sacrifice  that  he  kept  up  any  commercial  activity. 
For  the  execution  of  this  prohibitive  legislation  the 
law  always  provided  a  most  zealous  agent.  Half 
of  the  heavy  fines,  for  continuing  any  profession 
without  taking  an  oath,  went  to  the  prosecutor. 
Every  prosperous  man  was  sure  to  have  jealous 
rivals  who  would  seize  upon  any  opportunity  to 
accomplish  his  downfall  and  diminish  his  fortune. 
"  Every  eye  was  intuitively  suspicious,"  wrote  a 
Loyalist  who  suffered  much  at  this  time. 

f  Another  kind  of  attack  upon  the  Tory  was  the  leg 
islative  prohibition  of  free  speech  and  the  free  press. 
As  a  war  measure,  it  had  every  excuse.  As  the  pre 
ambles  of  many  laws  of  the  time  stated,  there  were 
men  ever  ready  to  discourage  others  from  enlisting  in 
the  American  army,  or  to  urge  them  not  to  continue 
in  the  service.  The  ignorant  were  frightened  with 
stories  that  the  King  had  hired  50,000  Russians  to 
subdue  America.  These  terrible  Cossacks  would 
spare  neither  man,  woman  nor  child.  Their  leaders 
were  "  masterpieces  of  inhumanity."  There  was  no 
salvation  from  the  King's  wrath  but  to  join  the 
British  army.  These  "  artful  devices  of  the  ene 
mies  of  America"  were  met  by  the  interdiction  of 


UNDER    THE   BAN  OF  THE  LAW.  199 

all  speech  or  writing  against  the  states  or  Congress. 
The  Continental  Congress l  urged  the  states  to 
"frustrate  these  mischievous  machinations"  and 
prevent  "  honest  and  well-meaning  but  misin 
formed  people"  being  "deceived  and  drawn  into 
erroneous  opinion." 

Connecticut  had  already  acted.  In  a  law  dated 
"  Anno  regni  regis  Georgii  tertii,  decimo  sexto," 
the  last  law  headed  with  the  regnal  year  and  pub 
lished  under  the  royal  arms,  the  attack  was  made. 
Any  person  who  wrote,  or  spoke,  or  by  any  overt 
act  libeled  or  defamed  Congress,  or  the  acts  of  the 
Connecticut  General  Assembly,  should  be  brought 
to  trial.  If  convicted,  he  might  be  fined,  imprisoned 
or  disfranchised,  and  must  pay  the  cost  of  prosecu 
tion.  There  are  abundant  proofs  in  the  Connecticut 
records  that  the  law  was  vigorously  executed. 

A  pamphlet  entitled  :  "A  Discourse  upon  Extor 
tion  "  became  the  subject  of  a  special  resolution  of 
the  legislature.  It  was  denounced  as  containing 
many  insulting  reflections  on  civil  government, 
tending  to  sedition,  bloodshed  and  domestic  insur 
rections.  As  it  was  expected  soon  to  be  published 
and  dispersed  among  the  people,  to  the  great  dan 
ger  of  public  peace,  the  sheriff  was  ordered  to  seize 
and  hand  it  over  to  the  State  attorney.  The  reso 
lution  was  a  kind  of  literary  bill  of  attainder. 
"  Papinian "  well  expressed  the  Tory  sentiment 
toward  such  laws,  when  he  sneered,  "  There  is  more 

'January  of  1776. 


200  THE   LOYALISTS. 

liberty  in  Turkey  than  in  the  dominions  of  Congress." 
Five  of  the  remaining  states  acted  in  the  follow 
ing  year,  and  the  rest,  as  the  exigencies  of  the  war 
forced  the  issue  upon  them.1  They  contracted  the 
freedom  of  speech  and  press  still  further.  Not 
only  should  men  refrain  from  evil  speaking  and 
writing  upon  the  delicate  subject  of  Congress  and 
the  Colonial  Assemblies,  but  they  must  not  affirm 
that  the  King  or  Parliament  of  Great  Britain  had  any 
authority  over  the  United  States.  This  was  not  to 
be  done  even  under  the  pretense  of  prayer ;  for 
some  did  under  "  that  guise  wish  for  the  success  of 
the  King's  arms  and  that  he  might  vanquish  and 
overcome  all  his  enemies." 

To  speak  in  a  derogatory  way  of  the  Continental 
a  currency  was  sternly  forbidden.  In  preaching  or 
praying,  in  public  or  in  private  discourse,  no  one 
was  to  be  allowed  to  discourage  people  from  sup 
porting  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  The 
raising  of  the  Continental  army  must  not  be  dis 
countenanced. 

The  cupidity  of  the  Loyalists'  neighbors  was 
wrought  upon  to  make  such  laws  effective.  As 
mentioned  before,  half  of  the  enormous  fines  2  that 
were  imposed  as  penalties  went  to  the  prosecutor. 
In  other  instances,  the  town  treasury  or  the  poor 

1  In  1777  and  1778. 

2  The  limit  of  the  fines  was  in  some  cases  as  high  as  $20,000. 
In  March,  of  1781,  New  York  went  so  far  as  to  threaten  with  the 
death  of  a  felon  any  one  acknowledging  the  King  of  Great  Britain  as 
his  sovereign. 


UNDER    THE  BAN  OF  THE   LAW.  2OI 

in  the  almshouse  got  the  benefit.  In  Massachu 
setts,  the  obligation  to  prosecute  was  laid  upon  the 
selectmen,  the  committee  of  correspondence,  sher 
iff,  constable,  grand  juryman  or  tithingman.  If  one 
of  them  complained  of  an  individual  to  the  justice 
of  peace,  the  latter  issued  a  warrant  to  the  sheriff 
to  bring  the  accused  for  examination.  If  found 
inimical,  he  must  furnish  heavily-bonded  sureties  for 
his  good  behavior. 

In  the  execution  of  these  laws,  the  patriots  often 
went  to  the  most  fantastic  extremes.  All  wit  and 
humor  which  had  for  its  object  the  Patriot  cause 
must  be  hushed.  Congress  and  the  flag  were 
shielded  from  the  Tory  wag  who  asserted  that  Mrs. 
Washington  had  a  mottled  tomcat  with  thirteen  yel 
low  rings  around  his  tail,  and  that  his  flaunting  it 
suggested  to  the  Congress  the  adoption  of  the  same 
number  of  stripes  for  the  rebel  flag.  There  is  an 
authentic  case  of  the  trial,  before  the  South  Caro 
lina  provincial  Congress,  of  a  Loyalist  who  had 
given  his  word  not  to  injure  the  American  cause. 
He  was  accused  of  intimating  that  Americans  had 
no  right  to  make  any  demands  of  the  Prince  and 
Parliament.  His  open  offence,  however,  was  that 
by  way  of  burlesque  he  had  called  his  stray  dog 
''Tory,"  thus  intimating,  presumably,  that  the 
Tory  led  a  dog's  life.  On  the  plea  that  he  was  in 
toxicated  when  he  said  these  things,  he  was  only 
reprimanded  from  the  chair. 

The  Continental  paper  money,  more  than  any- 


202  THE  LOYALISTS. 

thing  else,  needed  protection  from  Tory  wit  and 
aspersion.  The  subject  was  mentioned  in  nearly 
every  general  law  directed  against  freedom  of 
speech.  Most  of  the  states,  upon  the  recommen 
dation  of  Congress,  passed  special  acts.  "  Disaf 
fected  and  evil-minded  persons "  had  sought  to 
destroy  the  credit  and  circulation  of  the  Continental 
bills  and  the  bills  of  the  state.  Thereafter,  no  one 
was  to  demand  a  higher  price  in  bills  than  in  coin. 
The  truth  was  that  Loyalists  were  no  greater  sinners 
in  that  regard  than  Patriots,  but,  at  that  time,  Loyal 
ists  were  scapegoats  for  every  ill  in  the  state.  The 
Patriot,  however,  confined  his  disapproval  to  refus 
ing  the  bills  or  allowing1  about  two  cents  on  a 
dollar.  He  did  not  advertise  it  as  a  particularly 
cheap  form  of  papering  for  the  walls  of  a  house,  nor 
urge  its  use  for  kindling  fires  and  lighting  pipes, 
as  did  the  satirical  Tory.  John  Adams,  on  ship 
board  off  Newfoundland,  overheard  a  woman  of 
Tory  principles  speaking  of  the  currency  as  "  nasty, 
poison  paper  money."  She  gave  orders  not  to 
"  put  that  nasty  money  with  our  other  money." 

The  Patriot  leaders  were  ever  unearthing  "  gi 
gantic  plots"  to  depreciate  the  Continental  money. 
"Our  grand  enemy,"  wrote  Henry  Laurens,"  have 
...  a  device  .  .  .  for  depreciating  the  value  of 
money  issued  by  the  authority  of  Congress.  .  .  . 
The  pernicious  stratagem  .  .  .  appears  more  glar 
ing  from  a  late  publication  in  Philadelphia,  sub- 
»ln  1780. 


UNDER    THE  BAN  OF  THE  LAW.  203 

scribed  to  by  a  very  great  number  of  those  mis 
guided  persons  v/ho  chose  to  remain  in  the  city  and 
welcome  the  enemy  to  rivet  their  fetters."  L  As  if  a 
"device"  or  "  pernicious  stratagem"  were  neces 
sary  to  depreciate  currency  for  which  there  was  so 
slight  hope  for  redemption  ! 

Those  whose  patriot  principles  were  not  in  doubt 
might  refuse  to  accept  the  paper  money  at  par,  but 
the  suspected  Tory  had  the  "  worthless  rags  "  forced 
upon  him  at  every  turn.  His  rents  were  paid  in  it. 
For  his  produce,  he  was  obliged  to  accept  paper 
money  at  par,  and  then  purchase  his  necessities 
with  hard  money  or  the  currency  at  a  terrible  sacri 
fice.  He  was  made  the  sink  for  all  this  financial 
refuse.  He  dared  not  protest  against  this  perse 
cution  for  fear  of  the  more  violent  attack  that  would 
sweep  away  all  his  wealth  at  once.  The  only  result 
of  this  temporizing  was  that  ruin  crept  more  slowly 
into  his  fortunes.  The  long-wished-for  victory  of 
the  British  never  came,  and,  at  last,  the  wretched 
Tory  fled,  penniless,  to  the  British  lines.  Such  was 
the  story  told  with  many  variations  by  the  claimants 
before  the  British  Commissioners  for  granting  them 
compensation. 

Concurrent  with  these  legislative  restrictions 
upon  the  expression  of  loyal  or  anti-revolutionary 
sentiments  were  limitations  upon  the  personal  action 
of  Loyalists.  They  were  forbidden  to  travel  or  to 
go  near  the  enemy's  lines.  Men  were  subjected  to 

1  In  December  of  1777. 


204  THE   LOYALISTS. 

the  penalties  of  Toryism  if  they  refused  to  join  the 
militia  and  appear  regularly  at  muster.  Of  course, 
these  were  simply  war-measures,  and  were  as  neces 
sary  to  control  the  Patriot  as  the  Loyalist,  but  the 
latter  bore  the  opprobrium  of  having  made  the  law 
necessary.  Occasionally  the  fact  was  recognized 
that  "  lukewarm  friends  of  the  American  cause  "  did 
carry  on  trade  with  the  British  army,  but  usually  it 
was  "  evil-minded  and  disaffected  persons."  The 
Whig  legislators,  "  those  zealous  votaries  of  the 
bubble,  popularity,"  as  Governor  Martin  termed 
them,  were  careful  not  to  offend  their  constituents 
by  intimating  that  there  was  any  sordid  element  in 
patriotism.  They  could  not  openly  direct  their  laws 
against  the  Patriots  who  grew  rich  by  trading  with 
the  British.  They  preferred  to  aim  at  the  Loyalist 
and,  if,  perchance,  the  Patriot  were  hit,  that  was  no 
business  of  the  lawmaker. 

The  presence  of  many  spies,  in  the  states  where 
the  war  centered,  made  the  identification  of  stran- 
'gers  most  necessary.  The  Council  of  Safety  of 
Connecticut  resolved  : l  "  Whereas  many  persons 
inimical  to  the  United  States  of  America  do  wander 
from  place  to  place  with  intent  to  spy  out  the  state 
of  the  colonies  and  give  intelligence  to  their  ene 
mies,  whereby  confederacies  may  be  formed  and 
strengthened,"  that  no  unknown  or  suspected  per 
son,  whether  he  appeared  in  the  character  of  gentle 
man,  express  carrier,  traveller  or  common  beggar, 

lln  July  of  1776. 


UNDER    THE  BAN  OF  THE  LAW.  205 

should  travel  in  the  state  unless  he  produced  a  cer 
tificate  from  some  Congress,  Committee  of  Safety, 
or  of  Inspection,  or  other  specified  civil  or  military 
officers,  stating  whence  he  came  and  whither  he 
was  going.  There  must  also  be  a  guarantee  that  the 
traveller  was  friendly.  The  recommendation  was 
made  to  the  larger  towns  to  keep  proper  watches  to 
seize  the  persons  who  might  travel  by  night.  The 
same  precautions  were  taken  in  several  other  states. 
A  formal  statute  in  New  Jersey  contained  all  the 
above  regulations,  and  added  that  the  innkeepers, 
ferrymen,  and  stage  drivers  must  make  sure  that 
their  patrons  had  the  necessary  certificate.  They 
should  forfeit  £20  for  the  neglect  of  this  duty. 

Prohibitions  of  trade  with  the  British  army  were 
most  necessary  in  those  states  where  the  enemy 
were  long  encamped.  Washington  fairly  pled 
with  Rhode  Island  and  New  York  to  stop  that 
"  abominable  traffic."  The  most  desperate  struggle 
against  the  evil  was  made  by  New  Jersey.  Law 
after  law  was  passed,  with  ever  more  rigorous  pen 
alties.  From  threats  of  very  heavy  fines,  the  sever 
ity  increased  until  the  offender,  besides  being  fined, 
was  to  be  pilloried,  cropped  or  imprisoned  during 
the  war.  In  one  county,  where  the  enemy  was  en 
camped,  the  driving  of  cattle  was  forbidden  alto 
gether.  Live  stock  driven  within  five  miles  of  the 
enemy's  camp  could  be  seized  by  the  American  au 
thorities.  But  the  business  seems  to  have  gone  on 
to  the  end  of  the  war.  Men  could  not  be  deterred 


206  THE   LOYALISTS. 

from  so  profitable  a  trade  by  impotent  legislative 
«  threats.  As  suggested  above,  the  British  paid  gold 
for  provisions,  while  the  Americans  paid  paper ;  and 
it  was  a  hardy  patriot  who  could  resist  the  temptation 
to  acquire  British  gold.  When  the  British  wintered 
in  Philadelphia,  they  had  no  difficulty  in  getting 
fresh  provisions  from  all  the  countiy  round.  At  the 
same  time  the  American  army  at  Valley  Forge  was 
starving,  and  Washington  had  to  use  high-handed 
measures  to  get  what  provisions  he  had. 

Compulsory  military  service  was  another  subject 
|  that  cried  for  legislative  action.  That  service  might 
''  interfere  with  the  personal  liberty  of  the  American 
sympathizer  as  well  as  the  Loyalist,  but  it  was  only 
N  the  latter  who  was  compelled  to  aid  the  cause  he 
hated.  The  refusal  to  join  the  militia  was  early  re 
garded  as  evidence  of  Tory  sympathies.  Religious 
scruples  were  regarded  as  the  only  acceptable  ex 
cuse  ;  and  any  one  who  refused  on  that  ground  should 
have  a  record  for  piety,  in  the  past,  that  was  unim 
peachable.  As  the  struggle  grew  more  fierce,  the 
exemption  even  on  a  religious  ground  was  de 
nounced.  Heavy  fines  were  imposed  for  non-attend 
ance  in  arms  at  the  regular  muster.  The  payment 
of  the  fines  was  in  many  cases  refused  and  measures 
for  enforcing  the  payment  were  loudly  demanded. 

In  a  moment  of  generosity  or  piety,  the  Rhode 
Island  Assembly  passed  a  law  for  the  relief  of  per 
sons  of  tender  consciences.  They  were  to  be  ex 
cused  from  military  service  upon  making  the  affir- 


UNDER    THE  BAN  OF  THE  LAW.  207 

mation  :  "  I,  (A.  B.)  do  sincerely  affirm  and  declare 
that  the  art  of  war  and  fighting,  and  the  use  and  ex 
ercise  of  arms  therein,  either  offensively  or  defen 
sively,  is  utterly  inconsistent  with  my  belief  as  a 
Christian  ;  and  that  I  do  not  decline  and  refuse  the 
use  thereof  out  of  obstinacy  or  singularity,  but  for 
conscience  sake.  And  this  affirmation  I  make  and 
give  without  evasion  or  mental  reservation."  The 
records  show  that  the  act  was  followed  by  an  epi 
demic  of  tender  consciences.  Two  months  later  the 
assembly  was  obliged  to  amend  the  act  by  requiring 
those  who  thus  escaped  military  duty  to  hire  a 
substitute. 

However  rigorous  the  laws  might  be  made  for 
compelling  military  service,  there  were  many  who 
would  not  yield  to  legislative  threats.  The  unruly, 
were  taken  in  charge  by  the  militia  officers  them 
selves.  Sometimes  the  comforting  assurance  was 
given  them  that  the  Tories  were  to  be  put  in  the 
forefront  of  the  battle.  A  Pennsylvania  Quaker 
related  an  incident  which  well  illustrates  the  fate 
of  the  recalcitrant.  Fourteen  Quakers,  who  were 
drafted  under  the  militia  law,  had  been  forcibly 
taken  from  their  homes  to  the  militia  encampment. 
They  refused  to  partake  of  the  provisions  allotted 
to  themselves  and  others,  or  to  handle  any  of  the 
muskets.  They  were  forced  to  move  in  military 
order  for  some  distance.  Then  half  of  them,  who 
were  exhausted,  were  allowed  to  return  home.  The 
others  continued  the  march  —  several  with  muskets 


v 


208  THE   LOYALISTS. 

tied  to  their  bodies.  In  camp,  they  were  obliged  to 
stand  sentinel  for  many  hours  together  —  evidently 
kept  there  by  the  actual  sentinel.  Again,  four 
Quakers  were  taken  from  their  homes  by  the  mili 
tia  and,  with  drum  and  music,  paraded  through  the 
streets. 

The  treatment  of  the  members  of  religious  sects 
who  refused  military  service  was  always  milder  than 
that  accorded  the  known  Loyalists.  For  the  latter 
there  was  ever  ready  the  "  tar  and  feathers  and 
thousand  other  ills  that  loyalty  is  heir  to."  James 
Allen  asserts,  in  his  diary,  that  the  "dragging  out 
the  disaffected  to  serve  in  the  militia  is  attended 
with  every  species  of  violence  and  depredation." 
Another  asserted  that  the  Loyalists  were  often 
drafted  "  through  pique." 

Not  only  was  conscience  outraged  and  loyalty 
persecuted  by  compulsory  military  service,  but 
soldiers  were  quartered  in  the  homes  of  peace-loving 
Friends  and  unwilling  Loyalists.  There  may  have 
been  an  element  of  maliciousness  in  the  selection  of 
such  homes,  at  times  ;  but  the  evident  wish  of  those 
in  command  was  that  the  physical  comfort  of  the 
soldiers  should  be  the  sole  motive  for  the  choice. 
It  is,  however,  axiomatic  that  war  does  not  recog 
nize  the  amenities  of  peace. 

The  proclamation  by  the  Continental  Congress  of 
a  day  of  fasting  and  humiliation  and  prayer  was  the 
signal  for  the  persecution  of  those  who  refused  to 
obey.  The  Committees  of  Safety,  the  country  over, 


UNDER    THE   BAN  OF   THE   LAW.  209 

watched  narrowly  how  doubtful  persons  observed 
the  day.  Even  before  the  arrival  of  the  fast, 
solicitous  committeemen  waited  upon  ministers  of 
the  Gospel  to  learn  whether  they  would  preside 
at  the  ceremonies.  Of  the  hundreds  of  Loyalist 
clergymen  the  majority  dated  the  commencement 
of  their  troubles  from  the  first  fast  day.1 

One  clergyman  was  visited  by  the  committee  to 
request  and  entreat  him  to  perform  divine  service 
in  his  church  on  a  Continental  fast  day  and  deliver 
a  sermon.  But  their  entreaties  were  in  vain.  He 
gave  as  a  reason  that  he  was  one  of  the  mission 
aries  of  the  honorable  Society  for  Propagating  the 
Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts.  He  would  render  himself 
obnoxious  to  the  Ministry  and,  of  course,  lose  his 
mission.  The  day  after  the  fast,  the  committee, 
taking  into  consideration  the  unaccountable  behavior 
and  conduct  of  the  reverend  gentleman  in  deserting 
his  congregation  when  almost  all  ranks  and  de 
nominations  of  Christians  among  them  were  assem 
bled  at  church  by  the  order  of  the  Continental  Con 
gress  to  humiliate  themselves  before  God  by  fasting 
and  prayer,  resolved  that  the  vestry  of  the  parish  be 
earnestly  requested  to  suspend  the  offender  from 
his  ministerial  function  and  stop  the  payment  of  his 
salary.  And  he  was  suspended,  as  was  also  his 
salary. 

If  a  day  of  celebration  was  not  entered  upon  with 
becoming  zeal,  the  person  guilty  of  the  neglect  was 

AOn  July  20th  of  1775. 
15 


210  THE   LOYALISTS. 

suspected  at  once  of  having  the  political  cloven 
hoof.  The  stamp  of  "  Tory "  was  at  once  put 
lupon  him,  and  he  or  his  property  suffered.  The 
(Quakers  were  especially  ill-used  in  this  matter. 
{The  records  of  the  Philadelphia  Friends  l  contain 
the  complaint  of  abuse  by  "  the  rude  rabble,  for  not 
joining  with  the  present  rulers  in  their  pretended 
acts  of  devotion  ;  and  conforming  to  their  ordinances 
in  making  a  show  of  that  sort  in  shutting  up  our 
shops  and  houses,  professedly  to  observe  a  day  of 
humiliation  and  to  crave  a  blessing  on  their  public 
proceedings,  but  evidently  tending  to  spread  the 
spirit  of  strife  and  contention."  They  also  suffered 
''because  Friends  could  not  illuminate  their  houses 
and  conform  to  such  vain  practices  and  outward 
marks  of  rejoicing  to  commemorate  the  time  of 
these  people's  withdrawing  themselves  from  all 
subjection  to  the  English  government,  and  from 
our  excellent  constitution  under  which  we  long 
enjoyed  peace  and  prosperity."  There  seems  to  be 
in  the  spirit  of  these  entries  something  nearer  akin 
to  Loyalty  than  mere  Quaker  aversion  to  strife. 

If  we  regard  the  sum  of  these  restraints,  the  wings 
of  Loyalist  freedom  seem  to  have  been  very  closely 
clipped.  The  Tory  could  not  vote  or  hold  office. 
He  had  no  legal  redress  for  his  wrongs,  and,  if  he 
had,  no  Loyalist  member  of  the  bar  could  defend 
him  ;  he  was  denied  his  vocation,  and  his  liberty  to 
speak  or  write  his  opinions  ;  he  could  not  travel  or 

'In  July  of  1777. 


UNDER    THE  BAN  OF  THE  LAW.  211 

trade  where  he  chose,  and  he  must  pray  and  fight 
for  the  cause  he  hated.  But,  it  must  be  remem 
bered,  that  all  of  these  restrictions  were  not  to  be 
found  in  any  one  place,  nor  at  any  one  time.  Nor 
were  they  rigorously  enforced  except  where  the 
cloud  of  war  hung  most  threateningly.  Viewed 
from  the  distance  of  a  hundred  years,  the  necessity 
of  such  severity  is  not  apparent.  The  Patriots 
themselves  can  best  defend  their  use  of  the  "  iron 
hand."  Washington,  in  approval  of  such  laws 
passed  in  Connecticut,  wrote,1  "  the  situation  of  our 
affairs  seems  to  call  for  regulations  like  these ;  and 
I  should  think  the  other  colonies  ought  to  adopt 
similar  ones.  .  .  .  Vigorous  measures,  and  such  as, 
at  other  times,  would  appear  extraordinary,  are  now 
become  absolutely  necessary  for  preserving  our 
country  against  the  strides  of  tyranny  making 
against  us." 

The  preambles  of  the  laws  always  contain  some 
defense  couched  in  the  florid  rhetoric  common  to 
most  productions  of  their  kind.  A  Maryland  act 
which  attacked  the  Loyalists'  liberties  was  defended 
by  the  statement  that  the  clemency  of  the  state  to 
ward  those  inimical  to  its  freedom  had  not  had  the  de 
sired  effect  of  reclaiming  them  from  their  evil  prac 
tices  ;  "  but,  still  pursuing  their  dark  and  criminal 
designs  of  enslaving  America,  they  continue  to  en 
courage  and  promote  the  operation  of  our  enemies." 
Since  "  every  hope  of  uniting  to  the  interests  of 

1  January  6,  1776. 


212  THE   LOYALISTS. 

their  country  the  affections  of  these  its  unnatural 
and  implacable  enemies  is  extinguished,  and  great 
disadvantages  have  arisen,  and  still  more  dangerous 
consequences  may  be  apprehended  from  a  delay  of 
effectual  measures  to  suppress  them  "  — because  of 
this,  their  liberties  are  curtailed. 

It  was  perfectly  true  that  Maryland  and  other 
states  had  shown  clemency  at  first,  and,  even  after 
the  harsher  measures  began,  there  were  legislative 
retreats  to  a  more  lenient  position.  The  spirit  of 
uncompromising  persecution  was  not  manifested 
until  near  the  close  of  the  war. 

The  early  vacillating  policy  of  the  states,  in  re 
gard  to  the  Tory,'  forces  the  belief  upon  us  that  con 
version  was  the  consummation  devoutly  to  be 
wished.  The  incorrigibility  of  the  Loyalist  was 
not  established,  and  it  was  hoped  that  the  cumula 
tion  of  ills  might  at  last  force  the  Tory  into  the 
Whig  ranks. 


CHAPTER  X. 

RECONCENTRATION    CAMPS    AND    BANISHMENT. 

THE  efforts  of  the.  Whigs  to  restrict  the  civil 
rights  of  the  Tory,  thus  limiting  his  power  to  harm 
the  revolutionary  cause,  proved  a  failure.  They 
soon  discovered  that  the  "  Plague  of  Toryism  "  in 
fected  the  whole  state.  There  was  no  remedy  but 
political  quarantine  or  the  establishment  of  recon- 
centration  camps.  The  fear  of  Tory  insurrections 
confronted  Congress  and  the  States  at  every  turn. 
Tories  became  a  menace  to  the  success  of  military 
movements.  In  some  parts  of  the  country  they 
seemed  to  have  a  majority  in  political  contests. 
Even  as  a  minority  they  were  troublesome,  because 
they  always  were,  or  seemed  to  be,  plotting. 
Their  very  neutrality  was  a  bad  example.  Plainly, 
some  way  had  to  be  contrived  to  rid  the  state  of 
this  "  pest." 

Exclusion  from  public  favor  was  the  first  step  in 
the  political  purification.  This  social  ostracism  was 
at  first  informal.  After  the  first  violent  agitation 
and  discussion  there  was  a  breaking  of  old  bonds. 
Loyalists  were  sent  to  Coventry  by  their  townsmen. 
Old  friends  did  not  speak  as  they  met  ;  neighbors 
ignored  neighbors  ;  Whig  and  Tory  drifted  further 
213 


214  THE  LOYALISTS. 

apart,  because  neither  modified  the  views  of  the 
other  by  friendly  argument.  But  every  commun 
ity  contained  many  men  who  listened  to  either  side 
with  a  ready  ear.  To  gain  this  floating  element 
Became  the  object  of  both  parties. 

Soon  after  the  battle  of  Lexington,  the  Whigs 
had  begun  to  exercise  the  governmental  power  in 
their  hands,  and  the  formal  ostracism  of  Tories  was 
announced.  In  North  Carolina,  the  respective  dis 
trict  and  parochial  committees  were  empowered  to 
take  cognizance  of,  and  to  question  those  persons 
who  should  presume  to  violate  or  refuse  obedience 
to  the  authority  of  Congress.  They  were  to  declare 
such  persons  "  objects  of  the  resentment  of  the  pub 
lic."  This  was  effectually  to  expose  them  to  be 
treated  as  "  enemies  to  the  liberties  of  America." 

The  committees  took  up  the  commission  eagerly. 
The  records  abound  with  examples  of  a  ready  use 
of  the  power.  A  week  after  the  proclamation, 
James  Hepburn  was  declared  a  "  False,  scandalous 
and  seditious  incendiary,  who,  destitute  of  property 
and  influence  as  he  is  of  principle,  basely  and  trai 
torously  endeavors  to  make  himself  conspicuous  in 
favor  of  tyranny  and  oppression  ...  to  raise  a 
fortune  to  his  family  upon  the  subversion  of  liberty. 
Let  the  friends  of  liberty  avoid  all  intercourse  with 
him."  Another  was  denounced,  in  like  manner,  for 
resenting  a  Whig's  assertion  that  the  throne  of 
King  George  was  "  built  of  the  bones  of  his  fellow 
creatures,"  and  that  he  had  carried  war  into  the 


RECONCENTRATION  CAMPS.  215 

East  Indies  "  that  he  might  snuff  the  spices  of  the 
East  and  repose  his  sluggard  limbs  on  the  sofa  of 
a  nabob." 

Where  this  ostracism  was  approved  by  a  large 
majority  of  the  inhabitants  of  a  town,  the  victim  was 
practically  expelled  from  the  community.  None 
dared  give  him  lodging  or  food  or  comfort.  He 
was  a  pariah,  and  to  countenance  him  was  to  incur 
public  wrath.  After  the  war,  many  proved  their 
loyalty  to  the  British  government  by  producing 
advertisements  in  which  they  were  held  up  to  the 
world  as  "  incorrigibles." 

There  are  several  instances  in  the  Revolution 
where  a  whole  county  or  section  was  cut  off  be 
cause  it  had  offended.  Congress,  at  one  time, 
resolved,1  since  a  majority  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Queen's  County,  New  York,  "  were  incapable  of 
resolving  to  live  and  die  freemen,"  and  had  deserted 
the  American  cause  by  refusing  to  send  deputies  to 
the  New  York  convention,  that  all  who  had  refused 
to  vote  for  the  deputies  be  put  out  of  the  protection 
of  the  United  Colonies.  All  trade  and  intercourse 
with  them  was  to  cease.  None  of  them  were  per 
mitted  to  travel  or  abide  in  any  part  of  the  United 
States.  No  attorney  could  defend  them  in  any 
action  at  law.  They  had  avowed  "  an  unmanly 
design  of  remaining  inactive  spectators  of  the  .  .  . 
contest"  and  it  was  reasonable  "  that  those  who 
refused  to  defend  their  country  should  be  excluded 

1  In  January  of  1776. 


2l6  THE   LOYALISTS. 

from  its  protection."  Those  in  the  county  who 
had  not  offended  could  regain  all  lost  privileges  by 
means  of  a  certificate  of  their  allegiance.  The  in 
habitants  of  Richmond  County,  New  York,  gave  a 
like  offence  and  the  same  interdiction  fell  upon 
them.  They  repented,  however,  and  elected  depu 
ties.  In  February,  Congress  recommended  that  the 
New  York  Convention  receive  the  new  deputies,  if 
they  and  the  majority  of  the  people  of  the  county 
would  sign  the  association. 

The  next  stage  in  political  quarantine  was  to 
confine  the  Loyalist  to  his  own  house  and  yard,  as 
if  he  had  some  contagious  disease.  In  the  rural 
district,  the  range  of  freedom  was  greater  than  in 
the  cities.  It  was  a  common  provision  that  the 
unfriendly  person  "  be  confined  to  his  farm  and  the 
limits  of  one  mile  thereof."  To  get  this  mark  of 
favor,  however,  the  Loyalist  was  obliged  to  give 
his  parole  not  to  transgress  the  bounds  assigned, 
or  to  hold  any  correspondence  with  the  enemies  of 
the  United  States.  If  he  broke  the  parole,  the 
sheriff  forthwith  seized  him  and  placed  him  in  jail. 
Nor  was  the  privilege  of  remaining  at  home  likely 
to  continue  long.  Suspicion  was  sure  to  fasten 
upon  the  unlucky  Tory,  and  then  exile  or  impris 
onment  followed. 

The  approach  of  the  enemy,  any  unwonted 
activity  among  the  Tories,  or  the  mere  suspicion 
that  there  was  any  concerted  action  among  them, 
usually  resulted  in  an  effort  to  secure  all  of  the 


RECONCENTRATION  CAMPS.  217 

Loyalists  in  that  section.  When  Lord  Howe  was 
expected  in  Philadelphia,  and  when  Washington's 
army  was  so  continuously  retreating  that  a  Tory 
satirist  suggested  putting  a  brass  collar  on  the 
leader,  with  the  inscription  "  They  win  the  fight  that 
win  the  race,"  the  Pennsylvania  Council  became  so 
alarmed  that  they  ordered  the  seizure  of  all  sus 
pected  persons.  James  Allen  wrote  that  "  Houses 
were  broken  open,  people  imprisoned,  without  any 
color  of  authority,  by  private  persons,  and,  as  was 
said,  a  list  of  200  disaffected  persons  made  out  who 
were  to  be  seized,  imprisoned  and  sent  off  to  North 
Carolina."  He  said  that  his  house,  which  was  some 
distance  from  Philadelphia,  was  surrounded  by  a 
guard  of  soldiers  with  fixed  bayonets.  The  officer 
produced  a  warrant  from  a  council  of  safety,  and 
Mr.  Allen  went  with  them  to  Philadelphia.  Later, 
he  commented  bitterly  upon  these  measures.  "  The 
most  discreet,  passive  and  respectable  characters 
are  dragged  forth  and,  though  no  charge  can  be 
made,  yet  a  new  idea  is  started  ...  of  securing 
such  men  as  hostages."  Patriots  did  not,  however, 
put  this  interpretation  upon  the  seizure  of  the  Loy 
alists.  They  regarded  the  measure  as  a  means  of 
preventing  cooperation  with  the  British. 

After  the  battle  of  Moore's  Creek  in  Nortty 
Carolina,  it  became  necessary  to  dispose  of  the 
captured  Loyalists,  so  that  they  could  not  spread 
disaffection  to  the  Patriot  cause.  The  Provincial 
Congress  resolved  to  publish  a  declaration  stating 


21 8  THE   LOYALISTS. 

that,  out  of  a  regard  for  public  safety,  the  prisoners 
must  be  removed.  There  was  much  to  be  appre 
hended  from  their  personal  and  family  influence. 
They  might  delude  the  ignorant,  wicked  and  un 
wary  into  dangerous  measures.  The  unhappy  fam 
ilies  of  the  prisoners  were  assured  that  every  indul 
gence,  which  humanity  and  compassion  could  give, 
should  be  extended  to  those  in  the  power  of  the 
Congress.  The  treatment  of  the  prisoners,  how 
ever,  would  depend  largely  upon  the  future  good 
behavior  of  those  who  still  remained  in  the 
province. 

The  declaration,  when  drawn  up,  contained  these 
words  in  regard  to  the  exiles  :  "  We  have  their 
security  in  contemplation,  not  to  make  them  miser 
able.  In  our  power,  their  errors  claim  our  pity, 
their  situation  disarms  our  resentment.  We  shall 
hail  their  reformation  with  increasing  pleasure,  and 
receive  them  to  us  with  open  arms."  As  to  the 
wives,  the  magnanimity  continued  :  "  We  war  not 
with  the  helpless  females  which  they  left  behind 
them  ;  we  sympathize  in  their  sorrow.  They  are  the 
rightful  pensioners  upon  the  charity  and  bounty  of 
those  who  have  aught  to  spare  from  their  own 
necessities  to  the  relief  of  their  indigent  fellow 
creatures  ;  to  such  we  recommend  them."  In  the 
six  counties  from  which  the  prisoners  came,  commis 
sioners  were  appointed,  who  were  to  prevent  the 
waste  and  embezzlement  of  the  estates  of  the 
exiles,  and  at  the  same  time  see  that  the  women 


RECONCENTRATION  CAMPS.  219 

and  children  did  not  want  the  common  necessaries 
of  life. 

The  committee  of  secrecy,  war  and  intelligence 
wrote  to    John    Hancock^    President   of 


saying  that  they  "  thought  it  expedient  to  send  the 
prisoners  taken  during  the  late  commotions,  some 
to  Maryland,  some  to  Virginia  and  some  to  Phila 
delphia.  .  .  .  These  last  are  such  as  appear  to  us 
from  their  rank  and  influence  over  an  ignorant  and 
restless  part  of  our  inhabitants  to  be  capable  of 
doing  us  the  most  mischief.  .  .  .  We  are  sorry  to 
be  compelled  to  an  act  of  such  severity  as  this  of 
sending  these  men  at  such  a  distance  from  their 
unfortunate  families,  but  .  .  .  their  pernicious  in 
fluence  .  .  .  might  and  probably  would  prove 
fatal."  There  was  an  apologetic  manner  in  the 
execution  of  this  early  act  of  political  exile,  which 
was  not  found  at  a  later  period  of  the  war. 

These  North  Carolina  Loyalists  were  exiled  and 
imprisoned,  because  they  had  actually  made  war  ( 
upon  the  Patriots,  but  this  was  by  no  means  the 
usual  reason  for  such  measures.  In  the  majority 
of  the  states,  the  prophetic  eye  of  the  legislature 
saw  the  danger  while  it  was  yet  in  the  seed.  A 
writer  in  the  Providence  Gazette  had  urged  that 
words  did  not  "  convert  lions  into  lambs,  serpents 
into  doves  or  Tories  into  Sons  of  Liberty."  From 
this  truism  he  inferred  that  the  oath  of  allegiance 
was  not  enough ;  the  Tories  must  be  placed  where 
they  could  do  no  harm. 


220  THE   LOYALISTS. 

Massachusetts,  when  anticipating  an  invasion  of 
the  State,1  gave  the  Council  power  to  issue,  under 
[|the  great  seal  and  signed  by  the  President,  a  war- 
frant  to  apprehend  and  commit  suspicious  persons. 
The  sheriff  might  require  aid  from  any  subject  of 
the  state.  The  persons  so  seized  were  to  remain 
in  prison  without  bail,  until  discharged  by  an  order 
of  the  Council. 

A  few  months  later,  Virginia  passed  an  act  in 
demnifying  the  Governor  and  Council  for  removing 
and  confining  suspected  persons  when  the  British 
fleet  appeared  in  Chesapeake  Bay.  A  law  was 
passed,2  later,  giving  such  powers  to  the  Governor 
and  Council,  that,  if  the  State  should  be  invaded  or 
if  there  should  be  an  insurrection,  the  disaffected 
persons  might  be  confined  or  removed. 

In  New  York,  there  were  dangerous  persons 
living  near  the  military  posts  and  passes.  There 
was  reason  to  believe  that  they  communicated  intel 
ligence  to  the  enemy.  The  Governor  was  given 
power3  to  remove  them  to  such  places  in  the  state 
as  he  chose.  In  their  place  of  exile,  farms  were  to 
be  rented  to  them  by  the  commissioners  of  seques 
tered  estates  in  that  district.  Property  had  been 
sequestered  in  almost  every  part  of  the  state,  so 
that  it  was  not  difficult  to  find  farms  for  the  exiles. 
They  were  to  be  assigned  land  of  approximately 

'in  1777. 

2  In  May  of  1780. 

3  In  April  of  1778. 


RECONCENTRATION  CAMPS.  221 

the  same  value  as  the  land  they  were  compelled  to 
abandon. 

South  Carolina  also  granted  extraordinary  powers 
to  the  Governor,  on  the  ground  that,  in  time  of  in 
vasion,  the  hands  of  the  executive  must  be  strength 
ened.1  No  person  confined  by  the  Executive  was  to 
be  bailed  or  tried  until  ten  days  after  the  next  meet 
ing  of  the  legislature. 

The  opinion  of  contemporaries  seems  to  be  that 
the  extraordinary  power  thus  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  executive  was  not  abused.  It  was  a  danger 
ous  experiment,  but  there  is  no  evidence  that  the 
decrees  of  the  executives  were  ever  unnecessarily 
tyrannical.  They  were  expected  to  take  all  due 
precaution  for  the  safety  of  the  new  state,  and  they 
did  it  with  as  little  violence  as  possible.  The  agents 
who  carried  out  the  will  of  the  executive  were  often 
rough,  over-zealous  men,  and  they,  doubtless,  at 
times  used  their  little  brief  authority  in  no  gentle 
manner. 

The  other  states,  which  took  the  precaution  of 
removing  Tories  from  the  places  where  they  might 
become  dangerous,  gave  the  power  to  committees 
and  local  officers.  Connecticut  chose  the  latter 
method,  but,  in  one  special  case,  sent  out  a  commit 
tee.  It  had  been  represented  to  the  Assembly  that 
there  were  a  number  of  persons  in  the  western 
towns  of  the  state  who  were  inimical,  that  they  in- 

lrfhis  ordinance  was  issued  in  October  of  1778  and  renewed  in 
August  of  1779. 


222  THE   LOYALISTS. 

stigated  dangerous  insurrections  and  tried  in  vari 
ous  ways  to  aid  the  enemy  and  bring  on  anarchy. 
Five  persons  were  chosen  to  visit  these  western 
towns,  convene  all  dangerous  persons,  and  send 
them  under  guard  to  safe  places.  General  Woos- 
ter  was  directed  to  assist  the  committee  with  his 
troops. 

The  provincial  governors  and  councils  of  safety 
frequently  received  memorials  from  towns,  the  in 
habitants  of  which  were  nervous  because  of  the 
number  of  Tories  dwelling  among  them.  They  set 
forth  the  fears  and  apprehensions  they  were  under, 
and  prayed  the  board  to  take  the  matter  up  and  to 
decree  that  such  suspected  persons  be  removed. 
The  Tories  were  not  only  dangerous  in  themselves, 
said  the  Whigs,  but  they  spread  abroad  terrifying 
reports.  Ignorant  men  were  informed  that  the  king 
intended  to  open  the  next  campaign  with  90,000 
Hessians,  Negroes,  Japanese,  Moors,  Esquimaux, 
Persian  archers,  Laplanders,  Feejee  Islanders,  to 
gether  with  a  most  tremendous  and  irresistible  fleet. 
Men  who  circulated  such  horrifying  tales  ought 
to  be  exiled. 

New  Jersey  made  the  most  abnormal  delegation 
|  of  this  power  to  exile.  Judges  of  the  Inferior  Court 
were  to  order  the  removal  of  all  suspected  persons 
residing  near  the  enemy's  lines  ;  though  this  was  not 
to  be  done,  except  on  the  oath  of  six  well-affected 
freeholders  that  the  person  to  be  removed  was  dan 
gerous.  Only  the  Council  of  Safety  could  remove 


RECONCENTRATION  CAMPS.  22$ 

them  without  this  preliminary  oath.  New  York, 
in  desperation,  passed  an  act  to  remove  the  families 
of  persons  who  had  joined  the  enemy.  The  exiles 
returned  secretly  to  their  homes,  it  was  said,  and 
were  harbored  by  their  families.1 

Not  only  the  militia  but  the  regular  army  was 
called  upon  to  aid  in  seizing  and  conveying  the  Loy 
alists  to  places  where  they  would  be  harmless.  It 
was  generally  conceded  that  the  civil  authority 
should  give  the  orders,  and  the  military  officers 
would  execute  them.  In  May,  1/76,  Washington 
issued  orders  to  General  Putnam  to  aid  the  Provin 
cial  Congress  of  New  York  in  a  scheme  for  seizing 
the  principal  Tories  in  Long  Island  and  New  York 
City.  Upon  hearing  of  the  partial  success  of  the 
committee  on  Long  Island,  he  wrote  congratulating 
them,  and  promising  all  the  aid  in  his  power  "  to 
root  out  or  secure  such  abominable  pests  of  soc*- 
ety."  A  few  days  later,  he  wrote  with  approbation 
of  the  seizure  of  the  Tories  in  the  counties  of  Prin 
cess  Anne  and  Norfolk,  in  Virginia.  Later,  he 
expressed  disappointment  that  nothing  had  been 
done  in  Philadelphia,  and  feared  they  might  there 
fore  have  internal  as  well  as  external  enemies  to 
contend  with. 

Washington  wrote  2  Brigadier  General  Livingston 
that  "  the  known  disaffection  of  the  people  of 
Amboy  and  the  treachery  of  those  of  Staten 

1  July  I,  1780.     See  "  Laws  of  New  York." 
8  In  July  of  1776. 


224  THE   LOYALISTS. 

Island  who  after  the  fairest  professions  have  shown 
themselves  our  most  inveterate  enemies  "  had  in 
duced  him  to-  order  all  doubtful  persons  removed 
from  places  where  they  might  correspond  with  the 
enemy,  and  this  had  been  done.  He  told  Living 
ston  that  he  might  return  those  for  whom  he  was 
willing  personally  to  vouch.  "  But,"  Washington 
concluded  with  a  warning,  "  my  tenderness  has 
often  been  abused.  ...  I  would  show  them  all  pos 
sible  humanity  and  kindness,  consistent  with  our 
own  safety,  but  matters  are  now  too  far  advanced 
to  sacrifice  anything  to  punctilios." 

It  was  to  the  military  power  that  Congress  looked, 
either  mediately  or  immediately,  to  remove  trouble 
some  Loyalists.  When  the  Tories  of  Somerset  and 
Worcester  counties,  Maryland,  were  turbulent  and 
aggressive,  the  legislature  was  requested  l  to  send 
militia  to  secure  all  leaders  of  the  Tory  faction. 
This  not  having  the  proper  effect,  and  Sussex,  Dela 
ware,  being  also  in  Tory  hands,  the  Congress  "  those 
Thirty  Tyrants  of  Athens  "resolved 2  to  ask  the  two 
states  to  remove  all  "  persons  of  influence  or  of 
desperate  characters  "  to  some  remote,  secure  place 
within  the  states.  No  person  was  to  have  access  to 
them  unless  by  license  from  the  proper  officer. 
Again,  when  an  invasion  of  Delaware  was  expected,3 
Congress  ordered  Brigadier  Smallwood  to  secure 

•   1  In  February  of  1777. 

2  In  April  of  1777. 

3  In  March  of  1778. 


RECONCENTRAT1ON  CAMPS.  225 

the  disaffected  and  send  them  under  guard  to  a  safe 
place.  The  government  of  the  state  was  at  that 
time  in  such  a  condition  that  Congress  regarded  it 
as  unable  to  exercise  such  powers  as  were  abso 
lutely  necessary  for  its  preservation,  and,  for  this 
reason,  the  usual  recommendation  was  dispensed 
with. 

That  Congress  was  sometimes  too  slow  to  suit 
the  more  eager  military  men  is  evident  in  letters  of 
the  several  commanders.  Charles  Lee,  in  the  early 
days  before  jealousy  had  made  him  an  execrable 
traitor,  wrote  Washington  i1  "  New  York  must  be 
secured,  but  it  will  never,  I  am  afraid,  be  secured 
by  the  direct  order  of  Congress,  for  obvious  rea 
sons."  He  suggested  that  Washington  should  send 
him  into  Connecticut  to  get  some  volunteers,  and 
with  these  Lee  hoped  to  effect  the  "  expulsion  or 
suppression  of  that  dangerous  banditti  of  Tories, 
who  have  appeared  in  Long  Island  with  the  pro 
fessed  intention  of  acting  against  the  authority  of 
Congress.  Not  to  crush  these  serpents,  before  their 
rattles  are  grown,  would  be  ruinous."  Lee's  plan 
was  approved  and  he  was  sent  to  New  York,  as 
he  requested,  though  with  only  indifferent  success. 
When  a  state  exiled  its  Tories  to  the  territory  of 
a  sister  state,  the  guard  which  accompanied  the 
exiles  carried  a  letter  from  the  Committee  of  Safety 
of  the  one  state  to  that  of  the  other.  The  note 

1  "Correspondence  of  the  Revolution,"  Sparks  ed.,  Vol.  I.,  p. 
107. 

16 


226  THE   LOYALISTS. 

contained  a  statement  of  the  number  of  Tories 
consigned  and  a  few  words  about  the  dangerous 
character  of  the  prisoners.  The  Committee  usually 
"  lamented  "  the  necessity  of  troubling  a  sister  state 
with  persons  of  this  stamp,  but  the  "  peculiar  and 
dangerous  situation  of  the  state"  must  apologize 
for  a  measure  dictated  by  the  most  cruel  necessity. 
In  the  earlier  stages  of  the  war,  New  York  and 
New  Jersey  sent  many  of  their  most  dangerous 
Loyalists  to  Connecticut.  The  latter  seemed  to 
have  plenty  of  prisons,  and,  except  in  the  western 
part  of  the  state,  few  Tories  of  its  own.  Pennsyl 
vania  received  some  of  New  York's  exiles,  and  in 
turn  sent  into  Virginia  her  own  loyalists  and  Quakers 
of  doubtful  sympathies.  There  was  an  active  in 
terchange  of  prisoners  between  North  and  South 
Carolina,  though  the  former  sent  many  of  her 
political  offenders  northward.  Some  of  the  states 
merely  transported  the  disaffected  to  places  remote 
from  the  scene  of  war — "  into  the  back  country" 
as  the  phrase  ran. 

There  was  undoubtedly  a  discrepancy  between 
the  actual  treatment  of  Tories,  during  their  enforced 
journey,  and  the  theoretical  treatment  prescribed  by 
the  committees.  Whether  this  was  any  greater  than 
the  difficulties  of  travel,  the  uncertain  temper  and 
character  of  the  agents,  and  the  stress  of  weather 
would  unavoidably  cause,  cannot  be  determined. 
We  have  the  greatest  divergence  of  opinion  on  the 
Isubject.  The  Loyalist  was  ready  to  take  his  oath 


RECONCENTRATION  CAMPS. 


227 


that  he  was  treated  with  utmost  cruelty,  an<f 
that  he  and  others  were  driven  like  herds  of  cattle 
into  distant  provinces  ;  but  the  Patriot  guard  as 
serted  that  every  kindness  and  amenity  possible 
was  practiced.  We  can  only  conclude  that  the 
truth  lies  somewhere  between  the  best  that  the  Pa-i 
triot  can  claim  and  the  worst  that  the  Loyalist] 
could  charge.1  i 

When  the  suspected  Philadelphia  Quakers  were 
to  be  exiled  to  Augusta,  Va.,  the  instructions,2 
given  to  the  persons  in  charge  of  the  escort,  cer-, 
tainly  indicated  good  intent.  The  exiles  were  to  be 
placed  in  light,  covered  wagons,  and  not  crowded. 
Care  was  to  be  taken  to  secure  every  suitable  ac 
commodation  for  them  on  the  way.  A  proper 
degree  of  firmness  and  watchfulness,  as  well  as 
politeness,  would  be  necessary.  At  Reading  the 
prisoners  were  to  be  delivered  over  to  another  offi 
cer,  who,  under  like  directions,  was  to  conduct 
them  further.  Five  hundred  dollars  was  provided 
to  defray  all  expenses. 

Ajdjiary  was  kept  by  the  Friends,  while  on  the 
journey,  and,  though  there  is  a  querulous  and  fault- 
seeking  tone  throughout,  there  does  not  appear  any 
good  reason  for  complaint.  In  the  towns  where 
they  passed  the  night,  Friends  were  allowed  to 

1  One  writer  claimed  that  in  exiling  the  lower  classes  of  Tories 
"it  was  customary  to  chain   IO,  15  or  20  together  and  drive  them 
some  hundreds  of  miles."     See  Rivingtort 's  Gazette,  May  29,  1779. 

2  "  Pennsylvania  Archives, "  Vol.  V.,  607. 


228  THE  LOYALISTS. 

entertain  them.  Only  once  do  they  even  state  that 
friends  were  denied  admission  to  them,  and  then 
there  appears  no  good  reason  for  the  privilege  being 
granted.  The  guards  allowed  delays  that  the  bag 
gage  might  come  up,  because,  as  the  diary  ingenu 
ously  stated,  none  of  the  company  had  "  a  second 
shirt."  In  Reading,  an  angry  mob  threw  stones  at 
them,  but  no  one  was  reported  injured,  and  the 
stoning,  evidently  not  of  a  dangerous  character, 
was  not  the  fault  of  the  guards.  The  impression 
given  by  the  reading  of  the  journal  is,  that,  grant 
ing  the  justice  of  exiling  them,  there  was  nothing  in 
the  execution  of  the  order  which  might  be  deplored. 

The  respectable  position  of  these  Philadelphia 
Quakers  and  the  uncertainty  whether  their  religion 
or  political  sympathies  had  brought  upon  them  the 
disfavor  of  Congress  and  the  Executive  Council,  did 
doubtless  mitigate  their  treatment.  There  is,  how 
ever,  an  account  of  the  transportation  of  a  number 
'of  Tories  which  is  perhaps  nearer  the  typical  case. 

John  Connolly,1  a  zealous  Loyalist,  who  had  at 
tempted  to  arouse  the  Indians  in  the  western  part 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  to  organize  loyal  opposition 
to  the  Patriots,  was  captured  at  the  instigation  of  a 
Whig  committee,  and,  with  other  Tories,  taken  to 
the  eastern  part  of  the  state.  The  night  before  the 
journey  began  was  passed  in  the  house  of  the  Colonel 
of  the  Minute-men.  Connolly  did  not  complain  of 

'See  a  "Narrative  of  the  .  .  .  Imprisonment  .  .  .  of  John  Con 
nolly,"  etc.,  London,  1783. 


RECONCENTRATION  CAMPS.  229 

the  lodging  or  diet,  but  "  the  clamorous  gabble  of 
the  raw  militia  was  eternal  and  noisy  beyond  con 
ception."  The  next  morning,  the  party  set  out  for 
Philadelphia,  a  journey  of  160  miles.  The  escort 
was  a  party  of  military  dragoons.  "  The  spurs 
were  taken  off,"  wrote  Mr.  Connolly,  "our  horses 
placed  parallel  like  coach  horses,  with  their  heads 
tied  together  in  a  very  confined  manner,  and  a 
horseman  with  a  long  rope  attached  to  the  inter 
mediate  cord,  rode  before,  rudely  conducting  us  in 
whatever  direction  he  thought  proper.  My  servant 
was  allowed  to  follow  with  my  portmanteau,  but 
not  having  taken  off  his  spurs  the  populace  ran 
violently  up  to  him,  and  cut  through  his  boot  and 
stocking  to  tear  them  away." 

The  journey  that  day  was  painful  to  remember. 
The  road  was  rough,  there  was  but  a  narrow 
track  broken  through  the  snow  and  ice,  and  the 
horses  constantly  pushed  each  other  to  keep  in  the 
broken  path.  The  knees  of  the  riders  were  thus 
bruised,  and  their  legs  in  danger  of  being  broken. 
"Sorry  I  am  to  say,"  Connolly  .commented,  "it 
rather  afforded  cause  of  merriment  to  our  conduc 
tors,  than  any  scope  for  the  exercise  of  benevo 
lence.  For  the  honor  of  humanity,  however,  it 
should  be  observed  that  our  guard  consisted  of  the 
lowest  and  most  irrational  of  the  inhabitants  .  .  . 
and  their  captain  a  common  surgeon  barber." 

At  Yorktown,  a  committee  assembled  to  decide 
how  to  lodge  the  Tories.  They  determined  on  a 


230  THE   LOYALISTS. 

room  in  the  county  jail.  There  was  "  a  dirty  straw 
bed,  a  little  covering  and  ...  no  fire."  The  "  new 
made  soldiers  were  so  fond  of  fife  and  drum  "  that 
they  entertained  the  prisoners  all  night.  The  next 
morning  they  were  led  to  the  tavern  by  an  officer's 
guard  and  a  drum  beating  the  Rogue's  March.  It 
was  the  first  of  January,  and  they  were  ironically 
and  vociferously  complimented  with  many  wishes 
of  a  happy  new  year.  The  guard  exhibited  them 
"  in  terrorem  to  all  Loyalists."  When  they  set  out 
again,  a  multitude  rode  with  them  some  distance 
"for  the  novelty  of  the  sight."  Several  days  later, 
they  reached  Philadelphia,  and  were  placed  in  prison. 
It  seems  from  this  account,  that  the  inclemency 
of  the  weather,  the  wretched  roads  and  the  exuber 
ance  of  American  humor,  were  the  discomforts  of 
which  Connolly  most  complained.  The  treatment 
of  the  Loyalist  inexile  depended  so  much  upon  the 
time  and  place,  the  exigencies  of  war,  the  character 
of  the  exiled  individual,  and  of  the  persons  having 
him  in  charge,  that  no  general  judgment  can  be 
made  as  to  its  rigor  or  lenity.  From  the  Tory 
pen  we  have  a  picture  of  an  inexorable  reign  of  ter 
ror  ;  from  the  Patriot,  a  story  of  gentle  indulgence* 
that  would  make  exile  a  pleasure.  There  are,  how 
ever,  perfectly  authentic  facts,  which,  with  proper 
coordination,  may  reveal  the  approximate  truth  for 
the  vast  majority  of  cases.  The  records  of  various 
committees  and  councils  of  safety,  who  had  immedi 
ate  oversight  of  the  Tories  in  exile,  contain  entries 


RECONCENTRATION  CAMPS.  231 

stating  the  privileges  to  be  allowed  or  the  limita 
tions  to  be  placed  upon  the  prisoners.  There  could 
have  been  no  reason  for  guile,  no  object  for  decep^ 
tion  in  making  these  entries  ;  it  was  a  simple  record 
of  a  business  transaction. 

Omitting,  for  the  present,  the  Loyalists  who  were 
imprisoned  for  some  overt  act  in  support  of  the 
British,  and  who  were,  in  consequence,  treated  as 
criminals,  the  political  exiles  may  be  divided  intc 
two  classes.  There  were  very  influential  and  active 
Loyalists,  who  were,  as  a  rule,  confined  in  jails,  anc 
closely  guarded,  but  having  due  attention  paid  to  the 
preservation  of  their  health.  They  were  allowed  ex 
ercise  in  the  jail  yards,  during  the  daytime,  and  often 
a  greater  range,  accompanied  by  a  guard.  Under 
parole  and  a  heavy  bond,  greater  liberty  of  action 
was  allowed.  Often  the  freedom  of  the  town  was 
obtained  in  that  way  ;  the  only  requirement  being 
that  the  prisoner  was  to  report  to  a  guard  every 
day  between  certain  hours.  Friends  were  allowed 
to  send  food  and  clean  clothing  to  the  prisoners. 
They  might  have  any  delicacy  that  was  purchased 
with  their  own  means.  Servants  were  allowed  to 
attend  them,  and  keep  the  room  and  bed  clean,  as 
the  master  pleased  to  direct.  The  directions,  how 
ever,  for  the  care  of  Tories  of  extremely  dangerous 
character  contained  prohibitions  of  the  use  of  pen, 
ink  and  paper.  They  were  allowed  to  converse 
with  no  one  except  in.  the  presence  of  a  magistrate, 
and  then  only  in  the  English  language. 


232  THE   LOYALISTS. 

The  second  class  were  those  who  had  little  influ 
ence,  but  who  talked  too  freely  about  the  mistakes 
of  Congress,  or  the  virtues  of  the  British  govern 
ment  ;  in  fact,  often  their  only  offense  was  a  refusal 
of  the  oath.  The  aim  of  the  Patriots  was  to  coerce 
'these  men,  or,  at  least,  remove  them  from  localities 
too  thickly  populated  with  persons  of  like  views. 
After  transportation,  they  were  little  heeded.  They 
were  allowed  to  work  by  day,  but  must  pass  the 
night  in  the  jail.  There  was  at  least  one  example 
of  a  Tory  allowed  to  continue  his  business — which 
was  to  sell  rum — until  he  was  complained  of  by  the 
townspeople,  because  he  was  apt  to  babble  over  his 
I  cups.  The  exiles  were  obliged  to  support  them- 
/ 1  selves,  even  to  paying  for  lodging  in  the  jail.  The 
mildest  of  offenders  were  allowed,  under  the  care 
of  a  resident,  to  find  a  lodging  in  the  town  of 
their  exile.  Frequent  complaints  were  made  to  the 
committee-men  that  no  one  would  give  a  Tory  lodg 
ing.  Feeling  ran  so  high  that  to  rent  a  room  to  a 
Tory  was  sure  to  call  forth  abuse  of  the  landlord  by 
his  fellow  townsmen. 

For  this  milder  type  of  Tory,  the  parole  would 
secure  almost  any  privilege.  On  promising  to 
return,  he  was  often  allowed  to  go  home  to  his 
farm,  either  because  his  health  demanded  it  or  to 
gain  a  sustenance  for  his  family.  Sometimes  a 
Loyalist  was  permitted  to  go  home  and  bring  back 
part  of  his  family  to  live  with  him  in  exile.  A 
promise  to  return,  in  a  given  number  of  weeks, 


RECONCENTRATION  CAMPS,  233 

secured  the  temporary  freedom  of  many.  One  was 
permitted  to  go  home  and  get  a  gentleman  of  equal 
rank  to  return  in  his  place.  Where  there  were 
many  Loyalists  from  the  same  locality,  two  or 
three  were  allowed  to  go  home  and  get  clothes  and 
other  necessities  for  their  fellows.  The  prisoners 
always  paid  the  expenses  of  the  journey.  The 
committees  sometimes  reported  "  large  numbers  of 
Tories  "  present  at  their  meeting,  and  the  minutes 
of  the  meeting  show  that  all  were  there  to  request 
favors,  and  that  they  usually  obtained  them. 

The  diary  of  Thomas  Vernon,1  a  Rhode  Island 
Loyalist,  gives  us  the  most  intimate  acquaintance 
with  the,  life  of  an  exile.  Vernon  was  one  of  the 
mildest  of  political  offenders,  but  he  refused  to 
approve  of  the  revolutionary  measures,  and  the 
reformers  could  not  tolerate  even  mild  opposition. 
He  and  three  other  Loyalists  were,  by  order  of 
the  assembly,  removed  to  a  distant  town  and  lodged 
with  a  farmer.  A  dinner  of  salt  pork,  dried  beans, 
and  corn  rather  lowered  their  spirits,  but,  resolving 
to  make  the  best  of  the  situation,  they  were  soon  in 
perfect  harmony  with  the  family.  Their  efforts  to 
prevent  the  new  life  becoming  a  dreary  monotony 
were  recorded  in  the  diary  with  the  greatest  detail. 
Mr.  Vernon  made  a  weather  vane,  watered  the 
garden  and  caught  some  fish.  Then  they  all  drank 
punch,  chatted  and  read,  and  finally  tried  the  effect 
of  cider  on  monotony.  The  next  day  was  whiled 

lSee  "  Rhode  Island  Hist.  Tracts,  No.  13,  Providence,  1881." 


234  THE   LOYALISTS. 

away  by  making  a  flower-garden,  helping  the  land 
lord  rake  hay,  killing  a  snake  and  a  bird,  whittling 
a  cane,  and  finally  lamenting  the  lack  of  books. 
The  neighbors  came  and  stared  at  the  Tories,  and 
expressed  a  fear  of  having  them  in  the  neighbor 
hood.  The  next  day  they  were  removed  to  a  house 
in  a  town  near  by,  where  the  townspeople  were,  for 
the  most  part,  New  Light  Baptists.  Soon  the  land 
lord  told  them  that  the  town  was  very  uneasy  at 
their  stay,  and  he  wanted  them  to  move  to  another 
house.  Mrs.  Vernon  sent  her  husband  some  tea 
and  some  delicacies,  and,  as  the  landlord's  family 
helped  consume  them,  the  departure  was  not  urged 
for  a  time.  Mr.  Vernon,  however,  had  an  argu 
ment  with  an  old  man  "  whose  mind  was  much 
poisoned  with  the  disorder  of  the  country,"  and, 
soon  after,  the  landlord  reported  that  the  towns 
people  would  destroy  his  house,  if  he  continued  to 
entertain  the  Tories.  Meanwhile,  the  exiles  were 
writing  and  using  every  influence  with  the  Legisla 
ture  to  get  relief  from  their  exile.  The  Governor 
sent  them  word  that  something  would  soon  be 
done.  The  agitation  against  them  in  the  town 
continued.  They  tried .  to  get  a  weaver  to  make 
some  handkerchiefs,  but  the  weaver's  wife  was  afraid 
to  do  work  for  a  Tory.  At  last,  the  landlord  came 
with  great  trepidation,  and  said  that  forty  men  were 
coming  with  a  leader  to  get  "  those  Tories."  They 
must  go,  the  landlord  urged,  or  he  would  be 
ruined.  "  I  must  observe,"  Vernon  comments, 


f 


RECONCENTRATION  CAMPS.  235 

"  that  the  whole  famliy  have  almost  lived  upon  our 
provisions  for  eight  or  nine  days  past.  It  seems 
they  can  digest  Tory  victuals  very  well."  Soon  the 
sheriff  came,  with  a  warrant  to  remove  them  to 
some  other  house.  He  was,  however,  unable  to 
find  any  other  house  that  would  entertain  the  out 
casts.  They  were  thus  left  to  their  own  resources, 
and  started  to  walk  to  Newport.  Friends  met 
them  on  the  way,  but  the  whole  party  were  over 
taken,  and  compelled  to  go  to  Providence,  where 
they  were  cast  into  jail.  One  night  of  the  "  dismal, 
overcrowded  jail,"  with  "no  bedding,"  determined 
them  to  get  back  into  the  country  on  their  parole. 
Fortunately  their  troubles  were  then  nearly  over. 
After  getting  shelter  with  friends,  an  act  of  the 
assembly  allowed  them  and  other  exiles  to  return 
home. 

Such  an  experience  was  half  amusing  as  com 
pared  with  the  fate  of  those  Tories  who,  because 
of  the  bitter  feelings  engendered  by  war,  were  re 
garded  as  criminals.  Tories  who  had  been  active  in 
the  service  of  the  British,  and,  thereafter,  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  Whigs,  were  more  apt  to  be  thrown 
into  the  common  prisons  jvvhich,  in  that  day,  were 
places  of  horror.  One  of  the  most  terrible  prisons 
in  which  they  were  confined  was  the  famous_Sims- 
bury  mme  in  Connecticut.  A  Loyalist,  who  was 
imprisoned  in  that  hole,  has  left  a  graphic  descrip 
tion  of  its  horrors.  On  approaching  the  dungeon, 
he  and  his  fellow  victims  were  first  conducted 


236  THE   LOYALISTS. 

through  the  apartments  of  the  guards,  then  through 
a  trap  door  down  stairs  to  a  room  in  the  corner  of 
which  opened  another  large  trap  door,  covered 
with  bars  and  bolts  of  iron.  Two  guards  hoisted 
this  by  means  of  a  tackle.  The  hinges  grated,  as 
they  turned  on  their  hooks,  and  opened  the  jaws 
and  mouth  of  what  they  called  Hell.  They  then 
descended  about  six  feet  by  means  of  a  ladder 
which  led  to  a  large  iron  grate  or  hatchway  locked 
down  over  a  shaft  of  about  three  feet  in  diameter, 
sunk  through  the  solid  rock,  which  led,  the  guards 
informed  them,  to  the  bottomless  pit.  Here  they 
bade  "  adieu  to  the  world,"  and  descended  the  lad 
der  about  thirty-eight  feet  more,  when  they  came 
to  what  was  called  the  landing.  Then  they  marched 
step  by  step,  until,  descending  about  thirty  feet 
more,  they  came  to  a  platform  of  boards  laid  under 
foot,  with  a  few  more  put  overhead  to  carry  off  the 
water,  which  kept  continually  dropping.  Here 
they  found  the  inhabitants  of  the  "  woeful  mansion  " 
exceedingly  anxious  to  know  what  was  going  on 
above.  The  inmates  were  obliged  to  make  use  of 
pots  of  charcoal  to  dispel  the  foul  air  which  was 
only  partially  drawn  off  by  means  .of  a  ventilator 
or  auger  hole  bored  through  from  the  surface,  and 
said  to  be  seventy  feet  perpendicular.1  It  can 
readily  be  imagined  that  this  prison  might  have 
been  made  quite  as  horrible  as  the  British  prison 
ships  —  especially  if  the  jailer  chose  to  enrich  him- 

1Moore's  "Diary,"  Vol.  II.,  435. 


RECONCENTRATION  CAMPS.  237 

self  like  the  monster  Cunningham  by  "  feeding  the 
dead  and  starving  the  living." 

This  prison  was,  however,  undoubtedly  thei 
worst  in  America,  and,  although  others  were  soj 
overcrowded  as  to  endanger  the  health  of  the  pris 
oners,  and  the  inmates  sometimes  lacked  things 
necessary  for  the  comfort  of  persons  of  their  sta 
tion,  yet  there  seems  no  good  proof  of  deliberate 
cruelty  to  Tory  prisoners.  The  records  of  the 
committees  of  safety  show  that  they  intended  to 
provide  decent  jails  for  the  detention  of  their  polit 
ical  enemies. 

The  Loyalist,  who  was  exiled  to  another  state  or 
to  a  remote  part  of  his  own  state,  was  looked  upon 
as  one  having  a  contagious  political  disease  from 
which  he  might  recover  and  then  become  a  very 
useful  member  of  society.  Loyalists,  however,  who 
joined  the  British  army  and  refused  all  offers  of 
pardon,  if  they  would  return,  became,  in  the  eyes 
of  the  Patriots,  political  lepers,  who  ought  to  be 
sent  out  of  their  country  and  forbidden  to  return. 
During  the  war,  eight  of  the  thirteen  states  formally 
banished  certain  prominent  Tories  either  condition 
ally  or  unconditionally.  The  remaining  states, 
Connecticut,  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  Maryland  and 
Virginia,  accomplished  the  same  result  in  different 
ways. 

North  Carolina  and  Massachusetts  began  the 
formal  banishment  of  Tories  in  April  and  May  of 
1777.  Actual  hostilities  had  begun  earlier  in  both 


23  THE   LOYALISTS. 

states.  There  had  been  reasons  for  a  more  rapid 
growth  of  Tory  antipathy  in  these  states  than  the 
others.  That  they  should  be  first  to  act  is  pre 
cisely  what  the  logic  of  events  would  seem  to 
dictate. 

In  Massachusetts,  a  very  perfect  piece  of  machin 
ery  was  at  once  invented  for  weeding  out  Tories. 
The  selectmen  of  each  town  were  to  "  warn  a 
meeting"  of  the  inhabitants.  Some  person  firmly 
attached  to  the  American  cause  was  to  be  chosen  by 
ballot.  The  person  thus  elected  was  charged  with 
the  duty  of  laying  before  the  courts  evidence  to 
prove  the  inimical  character  of  any  inhabitants 
whom  the  freeholders  charged  with  favoring  the 
British  cause.  The  selectmen  were  to  make  out  a 
list  of  men  who  had  shown  Tory  sympathies  since 
the  Battle  of  Lexington.  Any  one  present  at  the 
meeting  might  suggest  a  name  to  the  moderator  or 
chairman.  This  name  was  to  be  added  to  the  list, 
if  the  majority  of  those  present  so  voted.  The 
completed  list  was  given  to  two  or  more  justices  of 
the  peace  who  issued  warrants  for  the  arrest  of  the 
proscribed  persons.  The  trial  followed  at  a  special 
session  of  the  court.  On  conviction  of  being 
dangerous  to  the  public  peace,  the  Loyalist  was  to 
be  sent  to  the  Board  of  War,  and  by  them  sent 
on  board  a  guard-ship.  As  soon  as  possible  the 
prisoner  was  to  be  transported  to  Europe  or  the 
West  Indies  at  his  own  expense.  He  might  carry 
off  his  personal  estate,  if  he  were  accompanied  by 


RECONCENTRATION  CAMPS.  239 

his  family.  In  less  legal  but  more  sentimental 
phrase  the  cry  of  the  mob  was: 

"That  Tories  with  their  brats  and  wives, 
Should  fly  to  save  their  wretched  lives, 
From  Sodom  into  Goshen. ' ' l 

If  the  exile  went  alone,  he  was  allowed  only  money 
enough  for  his  immediate  support.  To  prevent  the 
accused  person  converting  his  wealth  into  a  more 
portable  form,  his  real  estate  could  not  be  transferred 
in  any  way  to  another. 

This  act  was  to  remain  in  force  until  the  first  of 
January,  1778.  About  that  date.  Massachusetts 
enacted  her  "test"  law,  and  the  penalty  of  refusal 
to  sign  the  oath  of  allegiance  was  banishment. 
Forty  days  after  refusal,  the  offender  was  sent  by 
order  of  the  Council  to  some  port  in  the  British 
dominions.  Vessels  were  hired  for  that  purpose, 
and  paid  for  out  of  the  personal  estate  of  the  ban 
ished  man.  He  was  allowed  to  sell  his  personal 
estate,  and  take  with  him  what  money  remained 
after  paying  all  his  debts.  An  attorney  might  do 
this  for  him,  which  was  a  kindly  provision,  inas 
much  as  the  forty  days  between  refusal  of  the  oath 
and  banishment  was  passed  in  jail.  Both  the  above 
laws  threatened  death  without  the  benefit  of  clergy 
to  any  one  who  returned  after  banishment. 

Later  in  the  year,  not  content  with  the  above 
stringent  measures,  a  proscription  of  about  260 

1  Rivingtori1  s  Gazette,  June  26,  1779. 


240  THE   LOYALISTS. 

Loyalists  was  made.  Fifty-three  merchants,  sixty 
"  esquires,"  twenty-four  mariners  and  traders,  sixty- 
three  yeomen  and  gentlemen,  a  number  of  former 
state  and  crown  officers,  and  a  few  people  in  the 
humbler  walks  of  life  who  had  left  the  state  were 
named  in  the  act.  The§e  and  all  others  who  had 
joined  the  enemy  were  to  be  seized,  committed  to 
jail  by  the  Justice  of  Peace,  and  sent  out  of  the  state 
by  the  Board  of  War.  Death  without  benefit  of 
clergy  was  the  penalty  for  returning.  The  master 
of  any  ship  who  knowingly  brought  them  back  was 
fined  five  hundred  pounds.  The  ministers  at  the 
French  Court  were  to  receive  five  hundred  hand 
bills  containing  this  act,  the  object  being  to  con 
vince  France  that  America  was  in  earnest. 

New  Hampshire  and  Georgia  passed  prescriptive 
acts  in  the  same  year,  and  Rhode  Island  in  1780. 
In  October  of  1/79,  New  York  banished  about 
sixty  officers,  merchants  and  yeomen  and  confis 
cated  their  estates  at  the  same  time.  Her  test  act l 
had  already  ordered  the  banishment,  to  the  enemy's 
lines,  of  all  who  refused  the  oath.  In  like  manner, 
the  same  end  had  been  attained  by  other  states  with 
out  passing  an  actual  prescriptive  act.  Pennsyl 
vania,  in  her  act  for  the  punishment  of  treason,  made 
the  provision  that  persons  sentenced  to  death  might 
have  the  sentence  commuted  by  the  President  and 
Council  to  banishment.  North  and  South  Carolina 
made  the  refusal  of  the  oath  a  sufficient  cause  for 

'June,  1778- 


RECONCENTRATION  CAMPS.  241 

banishment.  Under  certain  conditions,  the  non- 
jurors  might  sell  their  estates,  but  a  failure  to  do 
this  within  a  certain  time  subjected  the  estates  to 
forfeiture. 

Those  states  which  did  not,  by  enactment,  banish 
the  Loyalists  left  the  matter  to  the  natural  social 
forces  and  the  effect  of  persecutions.  How  potent 
these  forces  were,  to  that  end,  may  be  judged  from 
the  large  number  of  refugees  to  British  territory 
and  the  British  army.  "  A  good  and  wholesome 
law  of  tar  and  feathers,"  as  some  grim  humorist 
expressed  it,  was  a  powerful  agent  for  this  purpose. 
The  Tory  was  constantly  threatened  with  violence, 
even  if  it  were  not  meted  out  to  him.  A  facetious 
writer  of  the  day,  advertised  an  ''Anodyne  Elixir 
for  quieting  fears  and  apprehensions,"  and  recom 
mended  it  as  "  very  necessary  for  Tories  in  all 
parts  of  America. ' ' 

A  large  number  of  Loyalists  told  the  British 
claim  commissioners  l  that,  after  being  imprisoned, 
they  were  given  their  freedom  upon  the  promise  to 
leave  the  country.  Some  were  compelled  to  give 
bonds  never  to  return.  One  had  his  bonds  placed 
as  high  as  four  thousand  pounds.  Many,  to  escape 
military  service,  paid  fines  until  they  were  ruined, 
and  then  fled  to  the  British  lines.  Those  whose 
professions  were  denied  them,  were  often  forced  by 

1  Who  were  sent  after  the  war  by  the  British  Government  to  de 
termine  what  compensation  the  Loyalists  were  entitled  to  for  their 
losses. 

17 


242  THE   LOYALISTS. 

want  to  join  the  British  army.  The  story  of  a  flight 
from  an  angry  mob,  followed  by  weeks  of  skulking 
in  the  woods  and  swamps,  and  the  final  escape  to 
the  British  camp,  constantly  recurs  in  the  records 
of  the  Loyalists.  The  life  to  which  they  fled  is  the 
theme  of  another  chapter. 


CHAPTER    XL 


LIVING    IN    EXILE. 

THE  banished  Loyalists  had  the  wide  world  be 

fore  them.     They  departed  from  their  houses,  said 

one  of  the  pious  victims,  "  as  Abraham  from  the 

land  of  the  Chaldees  "  not  knowing  whither  they 

went.1     He  wished  that  he  too  might  have  the  kind 

protecting  hand  that  guided  that  good  old  patri 

arch.     Many  of  the    exiles  went  to    England    to 

watch  the  course  of  the  war,  and  others  fled  to  the 

West  Indies  and  the  Bahamas,    or  some  part  of 

;   Canada  ;  but  the  far  greater  number  awaited   the 

•  outcome  in  one  of  the  American  cities  then  in  con- 

;  trol  of  the  British.2     Of  these  places,   New  York 

was  the  chief  city  of  refuge  and  longest  retained 

that  character.3 

The  first  arrival  within  the  British  lines  was  a 
happy  moment  for  the  refugees.  They  looked 
back  upon  official  and  unofficial  persecution  in  the 
colonies  with  a  sense  of  horror.  They  had  been 
threatened,  boycotted  and  plundered  ;  committees 
had  summoned  them  to  examinations  from  which 

'Curwen,  "Journal,"  p.  65. 

2  New  York,    Newport,  Charleston,    Savannah,    and,  for   a  few 
months,  Philadelphia. 

3  From  September  15,  1776,  to  November  25,  1783. 

243 


244  THE   LOYALISTS. 

they  had  escaped  perhaps  with  a  recantation  and  a 
reprimand,  or,  more  Jikely,  they  had  been  ostra 
cized  or  paroled  and  compelled  to  find  a  surety 
willing  to  forfeit  some  extravagant  amount  if  they 
committed  any  breach  of  Whig  law.  Then,  appre 
hensive  neighbors  denounced  them,  or  drew  up 
petitions  to  have  them  removed,  and  gave  the  au 
thorities  no  rest  until  they  were  disarmed.  They 
had  been  obliged  to  accept  at  par  the  depreciated 
money,  and  had  stood  in  terror  of  the  law  of  the 
maximum.  Finally,  a  test  act  had  demanded  of 
them  an  oath  which  they  could  not  take,  and  re 
fusal  had  brought  upon  them  fines,  disabilities, 
special  taxation,  and  even  whipping  and  imprison 
ment.  Where  the  partizan  struggle  was  hottest, 
the  persecutors  had  already  resorted  to  proscrip 
tion,  outlawry  and  confiscation.  Never,  since  the 
days  of  Nimrod,  thought  one  Tory,  was  there  such 
a  land  of  oppression  and  tyranny  as  America. 
After  being  whirled  in  this  torrent  of  persecution 
the  outraged  Tory  was  glad  to  rest  in  the  quiet 
pool  of  protected  loyalty. 

The  exile,  from  whatever  direction  he  might 
come,  readily  found,  in  New  York,  friends  and  ac 
quaintances.  The  refugees  from  the  several  prov 
inces  had  formed  societies  which  looked  after  the 
interests  of  fellow  colonists  ;  for  the  Loyalists,  like 
the  Patriots,  had  the  narrow  and  particularistic  in 
terest  in  their  respective  colonies,  rather  than  in 
America  as  a  whole. 


LIVING  IN  EXILE.  245 

These  societies  called  their  provincial  meetings 
in  some  favorite  tavern,  at  Hicks',  in  Broadway,  or 
at  Lenox',  the  sign  of  Joseph  Brandt ;  and  the  notice 
in  the  Gazette  hinted  darkly  at  secret  and  impor 
tant  business  which  all  should  attend.1  Gathered 
around  loyal  tables  and  smoking  "  monstrous  good 
smoaking  tobacco,"  bought  of  the  Tory  printer, 
they  discussed  the  war,  and  took  comfort  in  the 
reflection  that  most  rebellions,  in  the  past,  had  failed, 
and,  even  when  the  rebels  had  won,  they  had  been 
worse  off  than  before.  They  drank  toasts  "  to  the 
speedy  revival  of  civil  authority  and  a  happy  rein 
statement  of  the  loyal  refugees."  A  rhymster  in 
the  crowd  would  assure  them  that, 

"Old  England's  lion  now  once  more  shall  roar  ; 
Be  heard  from  Pole  to  Pole  and  shake  each  trembling  shore."  2 

and  a  whimsical  statistician  would  demonstrate  that 
the  guns  of  England's  navy,  placed  at  the  extent  of 
each  gun's  range,  would,  with  one  shot  from  each, 
circumscribe  the  earth,  or,  pointed  upward,  might 
do  considerable  damage  to  the  moon.3  Thus  did 
fancy  and  reason  sustain  the  Tory  in  his  hour  of  trial. 
The  business,  if  there  was  any  to  be  transacted, 
usually  concerned  some  loyal  address  to  the  king 
or  his  military  representatives  in  America.  These 

1  Pennsylvania  refugees  met  at  Birket's  Tavern,  near  Maiden 
Lane  ;  the  Jersey  refugees  at  Leonard's  Tavern  ;  Massachusetts,  at 
Hicks'  Tavern,  and  those  of  Virginia  at  the  Queen's-  Head  Tavern, 
etc.  See  advertisements  in  Rivingtori1  s  Gazette,  during  1779- 

iRivingtorfs  Gazette,  May  II,  1782. 

*Ibid.,  April  6,  1782. 


246  THE   LOYALISTS. 

addresses  were  curious  medleys  of  warm  assertions 
of  devotion  to  the  king's  sacred  person,  complaints 
of  the  discomforts  of  military  rule,  and  bad  estimates 
of  the  Patriot  resources.  In  the  later  years  of  the 
prolonged  stay  in  New  York,  they  often  requested 
returning  commanders  to  carry  indignant  protests 
to  the  king,  because  of  the  representatibns  made  to 
Parliament  concerning  the  Loyalists.  He  could 
not,  ran  one  of  the  protests,  be  ignorant  of  the 
causes  which  formerly  -depressed  the  spirit  of  loy 
alty,  and  prevented  it  from  becoming  so  usefully 
extended  as  it  otherwise  might  have  been.1 

This  protest  alluded  to  the  fact  that  the  Loyalists 
had  not  been  properly  encouraged  to  form  militia 
companies.  Petitions  of  Tories  who  wished  to  rise 
in  aid  of  the  British  had  been  neglected.2  Their 
aid  had  been  scorned  as  of  no  value.  The  British 
officers  and  soldiers  preserved  a  cold  tolerance  of 
the  Loyalists,  and  never  gave  them  a  warm  and 
sincere  reception.  The  loyal  as  well  as  rebellious 
Americans  were  "our  colonists,"  not  equals. 
Galloway,  who  rendered  the  British  greater  ser 
vice  than  any  other  genuinely  American  Loyalist, 
jalways  smarted  under  Howe's  neglect.  The  two 
men,  the  greatest  of  the  Loyalists  and  the  com- 
ma'nder  of  the  British  forces,  lived  side  by  side  for 
, :  seven  months  in  Philadelphia,  and  Howe  called  on 
AGalloway  but  once  in  all  that  time.3  This  low 

\\  iRivingtorf :s  Gazette,  August  25,  1779. 

*Ibid.y  September  17,  1779.     See  Address. 
3  Ibid.,  November  10,  1779. 


LIVING  IN  EXILE.  247 

estimate  of  the  Americans,  both  Tory  and  Whig,  I 
cost  the  British  dearly.     Much  of  Cornwallis'  early) 
success  was  owing,  thought  a  Tory  writer,  to  the 
fact  that  he  treated  a  Loyalist  like  a  friend,  embarked 
in  the  same  cause.      If  the  meanest  of  them  had 
business  with  him,  he  attended  them  himself,  and 
asked  them  to  eat  and  drink  with  him.1 

Mere  neglect  was  not  the  only  injury  which  the 
Loyalists  suffered  from  the  British  armies.  Though, 
for  political  reasons,  the  British  officers  sought  to 
spare  the  Tories  from -plunder,  yet  the  soldiers  held 
all  Americans  in  contempt,  and  were  hard  to  restrain. 
Many  Loyalists  were  plundered  while  they  held  their 
certificates  of  protection  in  their  hands.  When  New 
port  was  in  British  power7vthe  soldiers  robbed  the 
fields  and  gardens  of  Loyalists,  and  the  loot  was  sold 
by  the  soldiers'  wives.  The  shameful  practice  reached 
such  proportions  that  a  proclamation  was  issued, 
ordering  that  all  roots,  vegetables  and  fruits  exposed 
for  sale  be  seized,  if  the  venders  could  not  tell  where 
they  were  procured.2  Galloway  said  that  Loyalists 
had  come  to  him  with  tears  in  their  eyes,  complain 
ing  that  they  had  been  plundered  of  everything  in 
the  world,  even  to  the  pot  to  boil  their  victuals.3 
A  British  officer  explained  this  unpleasant  fact  by  « 
the  assertion  that,  upon  the  approach  of  the  British, 
the  Whigs  secreted  everything  that  could  be  of  use ; 

^Rivingtorfs  Gazette,  February  28,  1781.  1^ 

2  Newport  Gazette,  September  9,  1779.     The  offenders  were  to  / 

be  expelled  from  the  garrison. 

iRivingtori's  Gazette,  Octobers,  1779. 


248  THE   LOYALISTS. 

while  the  Tories,  confident  of  protection,  took  no 
precaution,  and  thus  were  exposed  to  be  plundered  : 
as  a  result  they  were  frequently  the  only  sufferers.1 
A  Committee  of  the  Continental  Congress,  to  inves 
tigate  the  wanton  destruction  of  property  by  the 
British  in  the  march  through  New  Jersey,  affirmed 
that  both  Whig  and  Tory  suffered  indiscriminately.2 
Outrages  of  this  kind  were,  however,  incidental 
to  the  times  of  hurried  marches  and  to  the  confu 
sion  of  active  military  campaigns.  Within  the 
British  lines  at  New  York,  the  Tories  found  them- 
^  selves  better  protected  by  the  officers  from  abuse 
/  by  the  soldiers.  There  were  thousands  of  loyal 
tradesmen  and  farmers  whose  homes  were  within 
the  British  lines,  and  many  of  the  refugees  had  been 
permitted  to  cultivate  for  their  own  benefit  the  lands 
of  Whigs  who  had  fled  at  the  coming  of  the  Brit 
ish.  3  Some  erected  temporary  habitations,  and 
others  appropriated  the  dwellings  of  the  exiled 
Whigs.  To  protect  those  who  tried  to  raise  gar 
den  produce  for  sale,  the  commander  issued  em 
phatic  orders  that  their  fences  were  not  to  be 
destroyed,  nor  their  crops  and  cattle  taken.  There 
was  not  much  complaint  on  that  score,  but  a  source 
of  continual  friction  was  caused  by  the  issuing  of 
orders  billeting  the  British  officers  upon  the  citizens. 

1  Stevens'  "Facsimiles,"  No.  2102. 

2  Pennsylvania  Evening  Post,  April  24,  1777- 

3  Rivingtori1 s    Gazette,    March  IO,    1779.     The  favored  persons 
were  compelled  to  give  certificates  of  loyal  character  before  taking 
possession  and  to  receive  a  permit.     See  Onderdonck's  "  Revolu 
tionary  Incidents  of  Long  Island,"  Vol.  II.,  No.  648. 


LIVING  IN  EXILE,  249 

The  haughty  boarders  expected  the  same  subser 
vience  in  their  hosts  that  they  would  have  found 
in  England,  but  "  our  colonists"  had  ideas  of  their 
own  as  to  their  obligations,  and  the  two  standards 
of  hospitality  clashed.  The  officer  would  clap  his 
host  into  the  mainguard,  and  then  the  prisoner  and 
his  friends  would  enter  an  indignant  protest  with 
the  commander-in -chief.1  Although  the  officers 
were  reprimanded,  yet  the  citizen  had  no  legal  re 
dress,  and,  as  a  result,  began  to  long  for  civil  rather 
than  military  government. 

With  almost  pitiful  reiteration  the  Loyalists  in 
New  York  petitioned  for  the  establishment  of  civil 
government.2  Men  high  in  the  loyal  ranks  assured 
the  British  ministry  that  the  Americans  in  New 
York,  whether  Loyalists  or  helpless  rebels,  would 
grow  impatient  under  a  Government  perfectly  mili 
tary.3  It  could  not  impede  military  operations,  they 
urged,  to  restore  the  blessing  of  civil  government, 
and  the  sooner  that  desirable  event  should  take 
place,  the  better  would  the  British  government  be 
prepared  to  receive  under  its  protection  those  who 
were  weary  of  the  sanguinary  conflict  in  the  colonies.3 

At  one  time  in  1780,  the  government  was  on  the 
eve  of  establishing  the  long-desired  system,  and 
.even  issued  a  proclamation  to  that  effect  suggesting 
appointments  for  a  council,  and  promising  soon  to 

1  Rivingtort 's  Gazette,  November  n,  1780;  November  23,  1779. 

2  For  one  of  the  most  elaborate  petitions  see  Stevens'  "Facsim 
iles,"  No.  1226,  November  25,  1778. 

*Ibid.,  I,  116. 


25°  THE   LOYALISTS. 

open  the  courts  and  convene  a  loyal  assembly.1 
There  was  powerful  opposition  to  this  move  by 
Tryon  who  feared  that  civil  government  might 
come  too  early,2  and  by  General  Robertson  who 
thought  that  affairs  ran  smoothly  enough  with 
loyal  magistrates  and  arbitrators,  who  prevented  or 
settled  all  differences  between 'loyal  citizens.3  The 
changing  phases  of  the  war,  also,  made  the  policy 
of  such  an  action  too  doubtful.  As  a  result,  the 
civil  system  never  came,  and  the  Loyalists  lived 
under  military  rule  to  the  end. 

If  at  any  time  the  Loyal  citizens  became  des 
perate  under  this  regime  ;  if  the  farmers  became  en 
raged  over  a  military  order  to  preserve  all  their 
grain  and  forage  "for  the  King's  use,"  and  sold  it 
to  any  one  else  at  their  peril ;  if  they  were  obliged 
to  cut  their  wood  and  even  sacrifice  their  orchards 
to  warm  the  King's  troops  ;  if  every  citizen  was 
threatened  with  imprisonment  or  banishment  for 
failing  to  enroll  in  the  loyal  militia ; 4  or  if  he  was 
commanded  never  to  appear  in  the  streets  before 
reveille  or  after  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening,  with 
out  a  "lanthorn  ;"5  and  if,  worse  than  worst,  every 
tradesman  was  obliged  to  submit  to  the  law  of  the 

1  Rivington'' s   Gazette,  April   19,  1780.      It  is  significant  of  the 
nationality  of  many  of  the  refugees  that  most  of  the  proclamations 
were  printed  both  in  English  and  German. 

2  "  Documents  Relating  to  the  Colonial  History  of  New  York," 
Vol.  VIII.,  767,  799. 

3  "The  Remembrancer,"  Vol.  III.,  225. 
*  Rivingtori1  s  Gazette,  January  22,  1780. 

5  Pennsylvania  Evening  Post,  January  8,  1778. 


LIVING  IN  EXILE.  25 1 

maximum,  and  even  the  bakers  had  to  stamp  their 
loaves  with  their  initials  and  sell  at  so  many  cop 
pers  for  a  given  weight1 — if  this  military  despotism 
grew  unbearable,  the  Tory  could  always  find  com 
fort  in  the  stimulating  and  optimistic  pages  of  the 
loyal  gazettes. 

There  was  a  fool's  paradise  for  the  hopeful  Tory 

y/V*--'V\x\x  -w^w-v  J 

in  every  issue  of  these  journals.  Dr.  Franklin  was 
reported  desperately  wounded  by  a  secret  enemy,  and 
there  was  no  prospect  of  his  recovery.2  Again,  this 
''chief  prop  of  rebellion"  was  dead,  and  his  end  had 
been  hastened  by  the  late  ill  success  of  the  rebels.3 
Another  day  brought  the  golden  tidings  that  Robert 
Morris4  had  left  Congress  in  disgust,  having  first 
made  a  motion  "for  rescinding  independency." 
Wild  reports  got  abroad  that  Washington  had 
been  made  Lord  Protector,  or,  again,  this  "  Caesar," 
this  "  Cromwell,"  was  dead  or,  at  least,  captured.5 
Sometimes  "court  cookery"  prepared  for  the  ga 
zette  the  news  of  a  treaty  with  Russia  by  which 
36,000  Cossacks  —  a  most  plausible  number  —  had 
been  taken  into  British  service.  The  King  of 
Prussia,  too,  had  yielded  to  British  diplomacy.6 
"  Poor  Rivington,"  sneered  a  Boston  editor,  was 

*  Riiringtoi? s  Gazette,  March  6,  1782.  According  to  police  reg 
ulations  a  two-and-one-half-pound  loaf  sold  for  fourteen  coppers,  and 
if  deficient  was  seized  and  sent  to  the  almshouse. 

*Ibid.t  March  7,  1778. 

3  Ibid.,  January  31,  1778. 

4 Ibid.,  January  3,  1778. 

5Curwen,  "Journal,"  p.  125. 

6 Rivington' 's  Gazette,  November  I,  1777. 


252  THE   LOYALISTS. 

hard  put  to  it  to  keep  up  the  spirits  of  the  Loyalists 
in  their  confined  district  in  New  York.1  Another 
editor  observed  that  the  printer  of  the  London  Ga 
zette  had  been  thought  the  greatest  liar  on  earth, 
tfut  Rivington  far  exceeded  in  this  curious  art  his 
.more  respectable  brethren  in  England.2 
I  Not  only  did  the  loyal  papers  publish  these 
I  cheering  items  of  news,  but  they  gave  to  a  hungry 
\world  morsels  of  political  argument  filled  with  bold 
antithesis,  turbulent  eloquence  and  the  "cant  of 
passions  which  the  writers  never  felt."  The  peace 
ful  citizens  of  New  York,  in  nightly  terror  of  the 
sailors  from  the  British  ships,  who  rioted  in  the  streets 
and  disturbed  the  loyal  slumber,3  were  told  of  the 
terrible  scenes  of  anarchy  in  the  Whig  centers.  The 
refugee,  groaning  under  the  war  prices,  which  were 
fast  consuming  the  few  funds  that  he  had  brought 
with  him,  was  made  content  by  the  tale  of  grinding 
taxes  in  the  provinces.  There  was,  asserted  one 
writer,  hardly  one  article  of  live  or  dead  stock,  or  of 
the  produce  of  the  earth  or  waters,  or  the  result  of  in 
dustry  or  labor  that  was  "  exempt  from  the  fangs  of 
those  devouring  locusts,"  the  Whig  legislatures. 
America  was  mortgaged  for  ages  to  come.  They 
had  incurred  this  intolerable  burden  because,  for 
sooth,  England  had  laid  that  "  most  exorbitant  and 
grievous  tax  of  three  pence  on  a  pound  of  tea."  4 

1  Rivington' 's  Gazette,  December  I,  1779. 

2  North  Carolina  Gazette,  December  12,  1777. 
3 Rivington' 's  Gazette,  April  14,  1779. 

4 Ibid.,  March  20,  1782. 


LIVING  IN  EXILE.  '  253 

The  Tories  lived  in  constant  terror  of  an  attack 
by  Washington's  forces  on  their  city  of  refuge,  but 
Rivington  comforted  themVith  stories  of  the  illim 
itable  resources  of  the  British  army.  One  hundred 
thousand  men  had  been  raised  for  the  internal  de 
fense  of  England ;  not  that  an  invasion  was  appre 
hended,  but  just  to  let  the  world  see  what  a  plenty 
they  have  of  men  and  money.  In  spite  of  the  war, 
trades  were  flourishing  and  taxes  light.  "  Was 
there  ever  such  a  nation  as  this  ?  "  queried  a  Whig 
journal.  "  Its  fleets  are  most  victorious  when  they 
flee,  ...  its  inhabitants  can  fight  and  manufacture 
at  the  same  time  !  The  higher  the  taxes,  the  richer 
it  grows  ;  and  the  more  you  exhaust  its  resources, 
the  more  they  increase !  What  can  the  United 
World  do  against  such  a  nation  ?  .  .  .  France, 
Spain  and  America  together  are  not  half  a  break 
fast  for  it.  It  is  the  very  giant  of  Pantagruel,  and 
can  swallow  as  many  windmills  as  any  other  giant 
can  poached  eggs.  There  was  a  panic,"  the  writer 
declared,  "  in  the  very  sound  of  Rivington's  para 
graphs." 

The  Tory  writers  had  now  given  up,  for  the  most 
part,  any  attempt  to  convince  the  Whigs  of  their 
error.  The  die  had  been  cast,  and  there  was  left 
nothing  but  recrimination,  invective,  direful  proph 
ecy  and  terrible  threats.  It  was  pointed  out  in  the 
Tory  press  that  Whigism  never  had  been  anything 
more  than  the  privation  of  every  fixed  principle  in 
politics.  The  Whigs  of  Charles  I.'s  time  were 


254  THE   LOYALISTS. 

"  regicides  and  republicans,"  and  in  Cromwell's 
they  were  "  levellers,"  and  in  the  time  of  Charles 
II.,  Puritans.  Now,  if  the  Whigs  establish  their 
republic,  they  "  will  reduce  all  men  into  a  state  of 
nature,"  and  perhaps  the  next  step  would  be  to  cut 
off  the  legs  of  the  tallest,  that  no  man  might  look 
over  the  head  of  his  neighbors.1  Nothing  but  de 
struction  could  come  to  such  a  rash,  foolish  people, 
augured  the  Tory,  and,  when  one  day  an  eclipse 
occurred,  the  loyal  fancy  assumed  that  it  "  was  the 
devil  spreading  his  wings  over  .  .  .  the  rebellious 
colonies,"  and  hopefully  concluded  that,  "  if  they  do 
not  repent,  the  next  time  he  will  certainly  fly  off 
with  them  all."  2 

In  spite  of  all  the  efforts  of  the  loyal  press,  how 
ever,  it  was  impossible  to  make  the  thousands  of 
refugees  forget  the  physical  want,  to  which  many  of 
them  were  reduced.  As  early  as  the  summer  of 
1778,  Sir  Henry  Clinton  wrote  that  nothing  dis 
tressed  him  so  much  as  the  applications  he  hourly 
received  from  great  numbers  of  refugees  who 
crowded  to  New  York  from  every  quarter  of  Amer 
ica.  Many,  he  said,  had  been  reduced  from  afflu 
ent  circumstances  to  the  utmost  penury  by  their 
attachment  to  the  king.  He  urged  that  humanity 
and  good  policy  required  that  at  least  a  temporary 
relief  be  afforded  them.  The  necessity  of  immedi 
ate  assistance  had  so  strongly  appealed  to  him,  that 

1  Rivington'1  s  Gazette,  December  I,  1779  ;  January  12,  1782. 

2  Curwen,  "Journal,"  p.  298. 


LIVING   IN  EXILE.  255 

he  had  used  the  funds  in  hand,  and  then  asked  for 
approval  and  aid  from  his  government.1  In  conse 
quence  of  this  request,  Clinton  was  authorized  to 
use  his  discretion  in  aiding  the  distressed,  giving,  as 
the  circumstances  dictated,  either  money  or  allot 
ments  of  rebel  lands.2 

By  the  autumn  of  1783,  the  provision  for  the  tem 
porary  support  of  Loyalists  cost  the  British  govern 
ment  40,280  pounds  annually.  This  sum  merely 
included  the  pensions  given  to  some  310  persons, 
ranging  from  ten  pounds,  given  a  tide-waiter,  to 
800  pounds  given  to  Eden,  the  exiled  governor  of 
Maryland.3  But,  in  addition  to  these  pensions, 
thousands  of  Loyalists  had  been  employed  in  the 
pay  of  the  British,  either  in  civil  or  military  capacity.4 

Not  only  those  refugees  who  were  under  British 
protection  in  America,  but  the  many  who  had  fled 

Stevens'  "Facsimiles,"  No.  1121,  dated  July  25,  1778. 
2  "New  York  Documents,"  Vol.  VIII.,  765,   768,  774,  801. 
124  pensioners  received  100  pounds. 


34 
58 
39 
30 
18 


200 

50 
50 

100 

over  200 


or  under. 

to  100  pounds. 

"  200       " 


303 

The  last  were  governors  and  men  in  high  station.     See  MSS.  Tran 
script  of  Loyalist  papers,  "Old  Claims  for  Temporary  Support." 

4  For  example,  Joseph  Galloway  was  Magistrate  of  the  police 
while  the  British  were  in  Philadelphia,  with  a  salary  of  ^300  per 
annum.  He  was  also  Superintendent  of  the  Port  at  ^770  per  an 
num.  See  "Bulletin  of  New  York  Public  Library,"  Vol.  IV.,  No. 
i,  p.  8. 


2<6 


THE   LOYALISTS. 


to  England,  became  pensioners  by  the  stress  of  ill- 
fortune.  If  possible,  the  latter  were  in  worse  straits 
than  the  former,  for  their  letters  to  America  were 
intercepted,  as  one  expressed  it,  by  the  order  of  the 
"  amphyctionic  states  of  America,"  and  thus  their 
friends  knew  no  more  of  their  circumstances  than 
as  if  "  they  were  in  the  region  of  the  moon."  They 
found  London  a  "  sad  lickpenny,"  where,  as  Cur- 
wen  asserted,  they  "  could  not  breathe  the  vital  air 
without  great  expense."  Begging,  this  good  loy 
alist  soliloquized,  is  a  meanness,  and  starvation  is 
stupid ;  and  his  only  comfort  .was  that  he  was  fast 
declining  into  the  vale  of  life,  wherefore  his  miseries 
could  not  be  of  long  duration.2 

Nothing  can  better  reveal  how  truly  American 
the  moderate  Tories  were,  than  the  journal  of  the 
patriotic  Curwen,  who,  though  he  was  heartily  op 
posed  to  the  revolution,  confessed  that  he  and  his 
friends  supped  at  a  tavern  in  Bristol  and  passed 
their  time  "  talking  treason  and  justifying  Ameri 
can  Independence." 3  When  the  news  of  Bur- 

1  Curwen,  "Journal,"  pp.  61,  102.  As  early  as  July,  I775>  ne 
wrote  that  there  was  "an  army  of  New  Englanders  in  London," 

PP-  32-39- 

«/J£/.,  p.  63. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  79.  They  had  many  favorite  places  of  meeting,  espe 
cially  certain  famous  taverns  in  London.  Jerusalem  Tavern  and  St. 
Clemen's  Coffee-house  rang  with  their  denunciations  of  the  rebels, 
or  discussions  of  the  latest  pamphlet  of  the  nature  of  "An  inquiry 
whether  Great  Britain  or  America  is  most  in  fault."  See  "Jour 
nal,"  p.  53.  The  "Adelphi,"  on  the  Strand,  was  also  a  resort  of 
the  Tory  "  New  England  Club."  See  "Journal,"  page  47. 


LIVING   IN  EXILE.  257 

goyne's  defeat  reached  him,  he  had  become  so  exas 
perated  with  British  underestimation  of  America's1 
strength,  that  he  wrote  in  exultation,  "  What  do 
you  think,  now,  ...  of  laying  the  colonies  at  the 
minister's  feet?  Of  Lord  S.'s  boast  of  passing 
through  the  continent,  from  one  end  to  the  other, 
with  5,000  British  troops?  Of  the  raw,  undisci 
plined,  beggarly  rabble  of  the  northern  colonies  ?  "  2 
His  warm  patriotism  appeared  even  in  the  expres 
sion  of  his  Tory  principles,  "  For  my  native  coun 
try  I  feel  a  filial  fondness,  her  follies  I  lament,  her 
misfortunes  I  pity,  and  to  be  restored  to  her  em 
braces  is  the  warmest  of  my  desires."  3 

The  story  of  the  wanderings  of  these  exiles  anc 
their  efforts  to  obtain  support  from  the  British  gov 
ernment  is  best  told  in  their  own  letters  and  jour 
nals.  They  came  to  England,  complained  one  of 
them,  "  only  to  suffer  hunger  and  nakedness  in  the 
comfortless  mansions  of  the  wretched."  4  Curwen 
wrote  bitterly  in  the  midst  of  his  trials,  "Seneca 
and  the  moral  writers,  luxuriating  in  the  midst  of 

1  He  was  not  made  very  welcome,  either,  and  was  suspected  of 
being  a  spy.     See  "Journal,"  page  242. 

2  Curwen,  "Journal,"  p.  178.       Still,  he  saw  what  it  meant  for 
him  and  wrote,  page  176  :  "  God  knows  what  is  for  the  best,  but  I 
fear  that  our  perpetual  banishment  from  America  is  written  in  the 
book  of  fate  ;  nothing  but  the  hopes  of  once  more  revisiting  my  na 
tive  soil,  enjoying  my  own  friends,  within  my  own  little  domain,  has 
hitherto  supported  my  drooping  courage."     Now  that  prop  seemed 
taken  away,  and  his  distress  was  great. 

*Ibid.,  p.  283. 
*  Ibid.,  p.  101. 
18 


258  THE   LOYALISTS. 

plenty,  have  written  elaborate  .  .  .  and  edifying 
treatises  on  contentment  and  the  duty  of  submis 
sion.  Let  Seneca  ...  be  brought  to  the  mouth 
of  the  cave  of  poverty ;  let  hunger,  thirst  and 
nakedness,  in  all  their  grisly,  terrifying  shapes  stare 
him  in  the  face ;"  then  let  him  a  write  a  treatise  on 
these  ideal  doctrines.1 

Not  all  of  the  exiles,  however,  viewed  the  situa 
tion  so  gloomily.  Harrison  Gray,  a  prominent  Loy 
alist,  wrote  from  London 2  that  he  was  sorry  his 
brother's  spirits  were  so  low,  but  he  was  confident 
that  the  glorious  period  was  hastening  when  "  you 
will  be  emancipated  from  the  tyrannical,  arbitrary, 
congressional  government  under  which  you  have 
for  some  time  groaned.  A  government  for  cruelty 
and  ferocity  not  to  be  equalled  by  any  but  that  in 
the  lower  regions,  where  the  prince  of  darkness  is 
President,  and  has  in  his  safe  custody  a  number  of 
ancient  rebels  who  are  reserved  in  chains  of  dark 
ness  to  the  judgment  of  the  great  day." 

Jonathan  Sewall,  filled  with  buoyant  confidence 
as  to  the  outcome  of  the  war,  wrote  to  a  friend  in 
America  in  a  rather  sardonic  vein.  "  Dear  Johnny, 
don't  be  frightened  at  seeing  a  letter  from  an  old 
Tory  friend  lest  it  should  come  under  the  inspec 
tion  of  your  high  and  mighty  committees,  as  I  sup 
pose  will  be  the  case  in  your  free  and  independent 
state."  He  then  facetiously  made  an  affidavit  that 

1  Curwen,  "Journal,"  p.  101. 

2  March,  1777. 


LIVING   IN  EXILE.  259 

he  had  never  had  any  treasonable  word  from  his 
friend  since  leaving  America.  "  Thus  much  to 
prevent  any  mistakes  which  might  expose  you  to 
the  perils  of  tarring  and  feathering,  Simsbury  mines, 
a  gaol  or  a  gallows."  After  hoping  that  it  would 
not  offend  "  committees  or  congresses  or  parsons  or 
generals,"  if  he  said  that  he  was  alive,  he  added, 
"  I  suppose  by  this  time  you  have  entered  so  thor 
oughly  into  their  mad  scheme,  that  it  will  afford 
you  no  pleasure  to  hear  your  quondam  friends  on 
this  side  the  Atlantic  are  well.  However,  I  will 
mortify  you  by  assuring  you  that  they  are  all 
in  good  health  and  spirits,  and  government  has 
liberally  supplied  the  wants  of  all  the  Tory  refu 
gees  who  needed  its  assistance  ;  and  none  here  en 
tertain  the  penumbra  of  a  doubt  how  the  game  will 
end."  A  little  banter  about  a  friend  intervened, 
and  a  wish  for  "  one  peep  "  at  his  house,  which  he 
supposed  he  should  not  know  again.,  "  Sic  Transit 
gloria  mundi.  I  shan't  break  my  heart  about  it. 
Every  dog,  they  say,  has  his  day,  and  I  doubt  not 
I  shall  have  mine.  Ah,  my  old  friend,  could  you 
form  a  just  idea  of  the  immense  wealth  and  power 
of  the  British  nation,  you  would  tremble  at  the  fool 
ish  audacity  of  your  pigmy  states."  l 

It  must  be  remembered,  in  comparing  Curwen's 
pessimism  with  the  cheerful  confidence  of  Gray  and 
Sewall,  that  the  latter  were  high  in  political  in- 

1  "  Life  of  E.  Gerry  to  the  Close  of  the  American  Revolution," 
pp.  268-272. 


260  THE   LOYALISTS. 

fluence,  and  were  never  for  a  moment  threatened 
with  poverty.  Position  assured  them  of  favor  dur 
ing  the  war  and  ample  compensation  for  their 
losses  if  the  struggle  ended  unfavorably.  The  less 
fortunate  exiles  complained  that,  too  often,  the  re 
lief  granted  by  the  government  was  improperly  and 
injudiciously  distributed.  Interest,  influence,  and  a 
sounding  title,  or  mere  presumption  and  boldness, 
secured  aid,  while  character,  merit  and  real  losses 
went  uncompensated.1  An  examination  of  the  lists 
of  pensioned  persons  2  indicates  plainly  that  there 
was  much  justice  in  the  charge,  for  the  larger  per 
centage  of  the  pensioners  were  men  who  had  held 
government  offices  or  high  social  positions  in  the 
colonies.  However,  it  is  not  to  be  forgotten  that 
there  were  other  means  of  relief  provided  for  the  Tory 
democracy,  which,  as  a  rule,  remained  in  New  York  or 
some  other  American  city  protected  by  the  British. 
Under  the  direction  of  the  royal  commanders,  the 
Tory  leaders  had  early  organized  schemes  for  the 
relief  of  the  destitute  refugees.  Orders  were  given 
that  these  loyal  charity  boards  were  to  receive  the 
proceeds  of  the  fines  paid  by  the  farmers  who  had 
asked  a  price  higher  than  the  legal  maximum  for 
their  wheat,  rye,  Indian  corn,  and  buckwheat.3 
The  rent  paid  by  those  who  lived  in  Whig  houses, 

JMSS.  "Transcript  ...  of  .  .  .  papers  ...  of  American  Loy 
alists,"  Vol.  I.,  Information,  p.  87. 

*  See  "Old  Claims  for  Temporary  Support"  in  MSS.  Tran 
script,  etc. 

3  Rivingtort 's  Gazette,  January  23,  1779. 


LIVING   IN  EXILE. 


261 


the  licenses  of  tavern  keepers,  and  of  the  retail 
ers  of  liquors,  as  well  as  the  ferry  rents,  were  set 
aside  for  charitable  purposes.1 

Finally,  loyal  collectors  waited  upon  the  "  gentle 
men  of  the  Army  and  Navy,  who  subscribed  in  the 
most  liberal  manner  for  the  relief  of  the  refugees,"  : 

1  General  account  of  receipts  and  disbursements  from  November 

I,  1777,  to  April  30,  1782,  of  all  moneys  raised  for  the  support  of 

the  Almshouse  and  other  charitable  purposes  and  the  exigencies  of 

New  York. 

Cash  paid  overseers  of  Received    for    rents  of 

poor    for    Almshouse  houses,    the  property 

Out-pensioners.  £35,732          of  persons  out  of  the 

Salaries  of  city  officers  lines ,£35,281 

appointed  by  procla-  Licenses  to  tavern  keep- 

mation 9>788          ers    and   retailers   of 

Repairs    of    buildings,  liquors 12,961 

ferries,    pumps,    fire-  Brooklyn  ferry  rents 3>386 

engines, 4,261      Lotteries 10,314 

Cleaning  and  repairing  Fines  and  forfeiture 1,474 

streets 5,717  £63,419 

Contingent      expenses,  (N>  R     Shillings  and  pence 

carting,  ete.      .........       1,090      areV  omitted> ) 

Different  charities,  itin 
erant  distressed  ob 
jects,  passage  money 
to  ship  off  some 435 

Wages  for  work  on  Gov- 

ernor's  Island 691 

Repairing  arms  of  mili 
tia 733 

Rent  of  houses  to  ac 
commodate  garrison..  2,033 

Fines  and  forfeitures  re 
paid  by  order 578 

Balance     in     hand     of 

Treasurer 2>355 

£63,419 

May  30,  1782,  Rivington1  s  Gazette  published  above  account. 
*  Rivingtorf s  Gazette,  December   16,  1778,  and  April   10,  1778. 
For  an  advertisement  of  the  lottery  see  the  Gazette,  February  14, 


262  THE   LOYALISTS. 

and  several  extensive  lotteries  were  created  to  tease 
the  needed  funds  from,  fhe  purses  of  men  who  could 
best  be  approached  in  that  way.  Over  10,000 
pounds  was  raised  by  that  seductive  method  alone. 
Thus,  as  Rivington  gracefully  phrased  it,  proof  was 
given  that  "the  hand  of  charity"  in  the  loyal  me 
tropolis  wras  ready  to  aid  those  "  suffering  for  their 
attachment  to  our  most  gracious  sovereign."  How 
noble  this  was,  he  moralized,  compared  with  "  our 
unrelenting  enemies,"  who,  contrary  to  the  dictates 
of  humanity,  have  driven  from  their  habitations  a 
large  number  of  helpless  women  and  children  with 
out  the  means  of  subsistence.1 

The  work  of  distributing  the  money  obtained  was 
left  to  a  loyal  vestry,  and  their  action  was,  in  the 
later  years,  influenced  by  a  "  Board  of  Directors  of 
the  Associated  Loyalists."  This  board  had  been 
formed  by  a  federation  of  the  particularistic  socie 
ties  which,  during  the  first  few  years  of  war,  had 
shown  how  strong  was  the  local  prejudice,  and  how 
provincial  an  American  colonist  remained  even  in 
exile.  The  Board  was  given  authority  to  look 
after  all  the  interests  of  the  Loyalists.  Their  work 
in  directing  the  military  activities  of  the  Loyalists 
has  already  been  noted. 

After  united  action  on  the  part  of  the  Tories  from 
the  different  provinces  had  been  secured,  there 
sprang  up  a  new  source  of  faction.  At  a  meeting 
to  appoint  a  committee  to  correspond  with  friends 

1  Rivingtorf  s  Gazette,  February  14,  1778. 


LIVING  IN  EXILE.  263 

in  England,  it  was  moved  that  no  person  be  elected 
"  who  has  ever  been  known  to  act  on  the  part  of 
the  Rebels,  either  as  a  member  of  Congress,  cont~ 
vention  or  committee,"  or  who  in  anyway  "  took  a\ 
public  acting  part  with  the  rebellious  Americans." 
The  motion  gave  voice  to  an  idea  that  had  long 
been  in  the  minds  of  those  who  from  the  first  had 
been  ultra-Tories.  The  consistent  Loyalists  were 
jealous  that  they,  who  had  borne  the  burden  and 
heat  of  the  day,  should  get  no  better  reward  than 
those  who  came  within  the  British  lines  only  to 
avoid  the  evils  outside.  Loyalty,  they  argued,  is 
out  of  the  question  for  the.se >  converted  men.  They 
are  time-servers  who  come  in  only  to  save  their 
estates  ("  the  few  who  had  estates  ")  or  to  get  hard 
money.  Such  "  cowards,  despisable  wretches," 
after  blowing  up  the  fire,  do  not  stay  and  fight,  but 
come  here  to  enjoy  themselves  at  ease,  while  the 
deluded  suffer.2  This  difference  between  consistent 
loyalty  and  that  which  was  only  developed  by  the 
oppression  and  tyranny  of  the  Whigs  was  never  for 
gotten  by  the  British  government  nor  by  the  few, 
whom  Curwen  likened  to  Abdiel,  who  retained  his 
"  primitive  loyalty  amidst  hostile  bands  of  fallen 
spirits."  3 

The  Whigs  outside  of  New  York  quickly  learned 
of  this  schism  among  the  "  sons  of  despotism,"  as' 

1  Rivingtori*  s  Gazette,  August  19,  1780. 
*Ibid.,  August  19,  1780. 
8 Curwen,  "Journal,"  p.  62. 


264  THE   LOYALISTS. 

they  delighted  to  call  them,  and  their  editors 
loosed  many  shafts  of  wit  and  ridicule  at  Tory 
expense.  But,  remarked  Rivington,  "  these  squibs 
and  crackers,  which  they  are  continually  throwing, 
are  perhaps  scarcely  noticed  by  those  who  are  up 
to  ears  and  eyes  in  Concerts,  Plays,  Balls  and  Cha 
rades,"  l  and  his  picture  of  gaiety  was  quite  true, 
for,  as  has  so  often  been  the  case  in  besieged  cities, 
the  inhabitants  tried  to  forget  their  anxiety  in  a  mad 
whirl  of  pleasure. 

Every  existing  place  of  amusement  was  utilized. 
The  theaters  produced  the  most  startling  dramas, 
and  one  might  choose  on  any  night  between  "  The 
Mock  Doctor,  or  the  Dumb  Lady  Cured"  and  the 
more  serious  production  "  Devil  to  Pay,  or  Wives 
Metamorphosed."  After  the  drama,  the  seeker 
after  pleasure  could  retire  to  the  King's  Head  Tav 
ern,  which  was  connected  with  "  an  elegant  garden, 
with  arbors,  bowers,  alcoves,  grottos,  naiads,  dry 
ads,  hamadryads,"  2  and  where  genteel  liquors  and 
good  dinners  were  renowned.  A  band  of  music 
would  attend,  and  "  God  Save  the  King  will  be 
played  every  hour." 

On  the  occasion  of  a  celebration  of  His,  or  Her 
Majesty's  birthday,  the  host  made  especial  efforts  to 
be  entertaining.  A  pyramid  of  lamps  rose  from  the 
base  to  the  top  of  the  flagstaff  of  Loosely 's  tavern, 

'  Rivington1  s  Gazette ,  January  5 }  1782. 

2 Onderdonck,  "Revolutionary  Incidents  of  Long  Island,"  Vol. 
I.,  161. 


LIVING   IN  EXILE.  265 

and  there  were  fireworks,  one  piece  of  which  was 
"  George  Rex  with  a  crown  imperial,  illumined  and 
finished  with  a  globe  of  fire."  l  But  the  chief  glory 
was  within,  where  200  wax  lights  illumined  the 
scene,  and  in  the  center  of  all  was  a  transparent 
painting  of  their  majesties  "  with  a  crown  supported 
by  angels  elegantly  illuminated  by  different  colored 
lights."  Above  was  a  canopy  of  state  splendidly 
decorated,  "  which  shone  like  their  Majesties'  vir 
tues  conspicuous  to  the  world."  To  the  left  of  the 
queen  were  the  figures  of  Hibernia  and  Bellona;  also 
a  British  sailor  trampling  on  the  1 3  stripes,  signify 
ing  that,  by  the  bravery  of  the  navy,  American  In 
dependence  should  be  no  more.2  On  the  other 
side,  the  "  generous  indignation  "  of  the  Loyalist  was 
aroused  by  a  view  of  Congress,  "  whose  ambition 
has  almost  ruined  this  unhappy  country."  It  was 
"  very  apropos  of  the  painter  to  place  the  devil  at  the 
president's  elbow,  who  tells  him  to  persevere,  with 
so  significant  a  grin  as  seems  to  indicate  his  having 
no  manner  of  doubt  of  their  making  his  house  their 
home  in  the  infernal  regions."  The  statue  of  Wil 
liam  Pitt,  without  its  head,  was  placed  near  the  Con 
gress  "as  being  one  of  their  kidney  and  gave  a  hint 
of  what  ought  long  ago  to  have  been  done."  3 
Amid  these  symbols  of  loyalty, 

"the  festive  Board  was  met,  the  loyal  band, 
To  Church  and  King  devote  each  heart,  each  hand," 

lRivtngton*s  Gazette,  June  10,  1780. 

8  Ibid.,  June  4,  1778. 

3  Ibid.,  January  24,  1778. 


266  THE   LOYALISTS. 

as  the  poet  of  the  occasion  expressed  it.  And,  when 
the  dinner  was  begun,  a  standard  appeared,  on  one 
occasion,  with  a  representation  of  the  British  flag 
above  that  of  France,  with  the  lilies  reversed. l 
Then  the  company  joined  in  song, 

"  Inspired  by  this  auspicious  morn, 
When  George  the  Great,  the  Good,  was  born." 

There  was  a  note  of  challenge  in  the  lines  declar 
ing  that, 

"  Aspiring  France,  and  haughty  Spain, 
With  envy  swol'n  shall  join  in  vain 

To  give  rebellion  aid  ; 
Britannia's  rage  they  soon  shall  feel 
Her  seamen' s  thunder,  soldiers'  steel, 

A  George's  wrath  displayed."  2 

These  lines  were  sung  with  special  vigor  at  the 
carnival  which  celebrated  Rodney's  famous  victory 
over  the  French  fleet  in  the  Caribbean  Sea.3 
Loosely,  "  the  Boniface  of  Brooklyn,"  announced 
to  his  patrons  that,  since  tyranny  and  its  republic 
were  no  more,  and  monarchy  was  again  firmly 
established,  he  would  "produce  a  dinner  fit  fora 
conquering  sovereign."  When  his  "  approved  good 
masters"  repaired  to  the  dinner,  they  were  enter 
tained  with  such  amusements  and  decorations  as 

^Rivington's  Gazette,  May  8,  1782. 

2  Ibid.,  June  4,  1778. 

3  The  famous  Meschianza  given  in  Philadelphia  to  Howe  before 
his  departure  for  England  was  rather  a  British  army  than  a  Loyalist 
affair,  though  the  latter  took  part.     See  Moore's   "Diary,"  Vol. 
II.,    52. 


LIVING  IN  EXILE.  267 

illustrated  the  glories  "won  by  his  majesty's 
arms."  L  Nothing  had  surpassed  the  occasion 
except  the  splendid  entertainments  at  the  time  of 
the  visit  of  Prince  William  Henry.  On  that  august 
occasion,  a  sentimental  Loyalist  wondered  that  Re 
bellion  should  not  "  sink  at  the  approach  of  so  fair 
a  representative  of  the  Royal  Virtues."  2  No  evi 
dence  of  joy  was  omitted.  There  was  a  ball  and  a 
feu  de  joie  in  the  evening,  and  the  taverns  rang 
with  loyal  toasts  and  songs,  until  the  early  morning. 
Into  the  midst  of  all  this  gaiety,  deadening  all 
the  mirth  and  silencing  the  song,  came  the  news 
that  a  treaty  of  peace  was  being  negotiated,  accom 
panied  by  a  fearful  rumor  that  the  Loyalists  were  to 
be  abandoned  to  their  fate.  In  vain  the  loyal  gazettes 
seized  upon  every  worthless  opinion  or  anonymous 
tale, however  insignificant  or  ridiculous, whichseemed 
to  indicate  that  England  would  not  grant  independ 
ence.  Schemes  were  suggested  by  which  the  Loyal 
ists  alone  should  conquer  America.3  But,  in  spite  of 
every  effort,  the  Loyalists  awaited,  in  utmost  anxiety, 
the  arrival  of  the  vessel  with  dispatches,  announcing 
the  result  of  the  Paris  negotiations  for  peace. 

^Rivingtori's  Gazette,  May  29,  1782. 

2  Rivingtori 's  Gazette,  September  29,  1781.     On  that  occasion  a 
poem  appeared  which  hailed  the  Prince  with  the  lines, 
"  Rising  o'er  the  Atlantic  main, 

William,  the  star  of  Morn,  appears." 

Upon  the  appearance  of  the  poem,  a  critic  remarked  that  "  so  far  is 
this  curious  piece  from  being  of  standard  weight,  that  it  is  fit  only 
to  be  converted  into  Continental  money." 
*Rivington*s  Gazette,  January  4,  1783. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

CHARGED    WITH    TREASON. 

THE  thought  of  peace,  except  that  which  would 
come  with  the  complete  overthrow  of  the  Revolu 
tion,  was  filled  with  terror  for  the  Loyalists.  In 
most  of  the  states  they  had  been  proscribed  as 
traitors  ;  in  all,  their  property  had  been  confiscated. 
Throughout  America,  the  people  had  given  unmis 
takable  evidence  that  no  Loyalist  would  be  tolerated 
among  them.  Even  those  refugees  —  and  there 
were  many  of  them  —  who,  upon  hearing  of  the  sur 
render  of  Cornwallis,  had  fled  from  the  British  lines 
and  joined  the  American  army,  had  been  none  too 
graciously  received.  As  a  result,  a  peace  on  terms 
of  American  independence  could  mean  for  the  ad 
herents  of  the  British  crown  nothing  but  perpetual 
banishment  and  the  loss  of  all  their  worldly  posses 
sions. 

The  legislators  of  the  several  states  had  not  left 
the  Loyalists  in  doubt  as  to  their  status.  The  laws 
plainly  defined  a  traitor  as  one  who  adhered  to  the 
king  of  Great  Britain.  He,  who  by  preaching, 
teaching,  speaking  or  writing,  maintained  that  the 
king  had  authority  over  the  state  of  New  Jersey,  or 
who  acknowledged  allegiance  to  Great  Britain, 

268 


CHARGED    WITH  TREASON.  269 

should  suffer  death  without  benefit  of  clergy.1 
Such  severity  came  only  when  loyalty  had  become 
particularly  odious,  near  the  end  of  the  war ;  but, 
even  in  the  year  of  independence,  the  giving  aid  to 
Great  Britain  had  been  made  by  law  an  act  of 
treason.2  In  Pennsylvania,  any  resident  of  the  state 
became  a  traitor  if  he  accepted  a  commission  from 
the  king  or  enlisted  in  his  army  or  persuaded  others 
to  do  so,  and,  if  convicted  of  such  an  offense,  he 
should  suffer  death  and  the  forfeiture  of  all  his 
property.3  Later,  "  divers  traitors"  were  attainted 
if  they  did  not  surrender  to  the  state  authorities 
before  a  given  date.  The  laws  of  the  colonies  to 
the  south  of  Pennsylvania  were  of  about  the  same 
degree  of  severity,  and,  in  the  actual  treatment  of 
the  Loyalists,  differed  in  no  remarkable  particular. 
In  general,  the  states  which  were  the  seats  of  war, 
and  these  in  times  of  great  stress,  persecuted  the 
Loyalists  most  vigorously. 

That  the  laws  against  treason,  and  the  bills  of 
attainder,  were  not  without  effect  is  shown  by  the 
famous  "Black  List"  of  Pennsylvania,  which  con 
tained  490  names  of  persons  attainted  of  high 
treason.4  The  larger  number  of  these  never  re- 

1  Laws  of  New  Jersey,  March  30,  1781.     The  courts  might  change 
the  sentence  to  serving  on  the  ships  of  war  of  the  United  States. 
Vol.  I.,  370,  laws  compiled  by  R.  Wilson,  1784. 

2  October  4,  1776.     Laws  of  New  Jersey,  p.  4. 

3  Laws  of  Pennsylvania,  Vol.  X.,  103,  February  1 1,  1777.      The 
president  and  Council  of  the  State  might  commute  to  banishment. 

*"The  Black  List,"  Philadelphia,  1802.  Of  these  71  "sur 
rendered  and  were  discharged,"  13  were  "  tried  and  acquitted." 


2 70  THE   L  O  YA LISTS. 

turned  to  the  state,  while  some  established  their 
innocence,  and  others  were  pardoned.  Only  a  few 
actually  suffered  the  penalty.  Among  these  were 
two  citizens  of  Philadelphia,  Mr.  Roberts  and  Mr. 
Carlisle,  who  had  shown  great  zeal  for  the  British 
while  the  king's  army  was  in  Philadelphia.  When 
the  British  army  evacuated  they  remained,  although 
warned  of  their  danger,  and  were  at  once  seized 
and  brought  to  trial  by  the  returning  Whigs.  They 
were  condemned  to  be  hanged.1  Mr.  Roberts' 
wife  and  children  went  before  Congress  and,  on  their 
knees,  supplicated  for  mercy,  but  in  vain. 

In  carrying  out  the  sentence,  the  two  men,  with 
halters  round  their  necks,  were  walked  to  the  gal 
lows  behind  a  cart,  "  attended  with  all  the  apparatus 
which  makes  such  scenes  truly  horrible. ' '  A  guard  of 
militia  accompanied  them,  but  very  few  spectators.2 
At  the  gallows,  Mr.  Roberts'  behavior,  wrote  a  loyal 
friend,  "  did  honor  to  human  nature,"  and  both 
showed  fortitude  and  composure.  Roberts  told  his 
audience  that  his  conscience  acquitted  him  of  guilt ; 
that  he  suffered  for  doing  his  duty  to  his  sovereign, 
and  that  his  blood  would  one  day  be  required  at 
their  hands.  Turning  to  his  children  he  charged 

'For  a  report  of  the  trial  see  "Pennsylvania  Packet,"  Nov.  7, 
1778-  See  also  Pennsylvania  Archives,  Vol.  VII.,  22,  also 
Dallas,  Vol.  I.,  39,  42,  Wharton  ed.,  Hazard  ed. 

2  The  punishment  for  treason,  which  at  the  outbreak  of  the 
Revolution  was  the  same  as  in  England,  was  changed  in  America, 
because,  Livingston  is  quoted  as  saying,  that  of  England  "none  but 
a  savage  or  a  British  subject  can  think  of  without  horror."  See 
also  Laws  of  New  York,  March  30,  1778,  Vol.  I.,  43. 


CHARGED    WITH  TREASON.  2>Jl 

and  exhorted  them  to  remember  his  principles,  for 
which  he  died,  and  to  adhere  to  them  while  they 
had  breath.  He  suffered  with  the  resolution  of  a 
Roman,  wrote  a  witness.  After  the  execution,  the 
bodies  of  the  two  men  were  carried  away  by  friends, 
and  their  burial  was  attended  by  over  4,000  people 
in  procession.1 

In  this  particular  case  the  offenders  were  tried  by 
a  civil  tribunal,  but,  more  often,  their  fate  was  decidec 
by  court-martial,2  or  by  committees  "  for  detecting 
and  defeating  conspiracies,"  to  the  sittings  of  which 
the  victims  were  brought  by  armed  bands  of  rangers 
who  scoured  the  country  in  every  direction  in  search 
of  these  "  traitors."  In  New  York,  over  1,000  were 
tried  and  sentenced,  and  some  600  were  released  on 
bail.  A  number  were  released  on  taking  the  oath 
of  allegiance  to  the  state,  and  others  were  confined 
in  prison  for  refusing  such  an  oath. 

Some  of  the  more  heartless  leaders  of  the  revo 
lution  defended  this  severity  of  treatment,  and 
thought  that  "  hanging  the  traitors"  would  have  a 
good  effect  and  "  give  stability  to  the  new  govern 
ment."  One  suggested  that  the  Tories  seemed 
designed  for  this  purpose  by  Providence.3  The 
more  thoughtful  leaders,  however,  denounced  the 
trial  of  Loyalists  for  treason,  and  Washington  feared 

'Galloway's  "Examination,"  p.  77- 

2  In  New  York  such  a  condemnation  had  to  be  approved  by  the 
state  legislature.     For  particulars  of  a  trial  by  court-martial  see 
"Public  Papers  of  Geo.  Clinton,"  Vol.  I.,  741. 

3  "Records  of  North  Carolina,"  Vol.  XL,  561. 


2J2  THE   LOYALISTS. 

that  it  might  prove  a  dangerous  expedient.  It  was 
true,  he  granted,  that  they  had  joined  the  British 
after  such  an  offense  had  been  declared  to  be  treason, 
but,  as  they  had  not  taken  the  oaths  nor  entered 
into  the  American  service,  it  would  be  said  that 
they  had  a  right  to  choose  their  side.  "  Again," 
he  added,  "  by  the  same  rule  that  we  try  them  may 
not  the  enemy  try  any  natural-born  subject  of 
Great  Britain  taken  in  arms  in  our  service  ?  We 
have  a  great  number  of  them,  and  I,  therefore, 
think  that  we  had  better  submit  to  the  necessity  of 
treating  a  few  individuals  who  may  really  deserve  a 
severer  fate,  as  prisoners  of  war,  than  run  the  risk 
of  giving  an  opening  for  retaliation  upon  the 
Europeans  in  our  service."1 

Other  prominent  patriots  took  a  more  sympa 
thetic  view,  and  disapproved  of  such  trials  because 
of  the  impossibility  of  rendering  justice.  "  We 
shall  have  many  unhappy  devils  to  take  their  trials 
for  their  life  next  Oyer  court,"  wrote  a  patriot  to 
Gov.  Caswell.  "  I  must  confess  I  feel  myself 
deeply  interested  in  this  matter."  He  thought  that 
the  governor  must  view  the  present  situation  of  the 
country  in  as  deplorable  a  light  as  he  did.  "  An  ex 
asperated  jury  and  a  lay  judge.  My  God  ! "  he 
exclaimed,  "What  may  we  not  expect?  Law 
should  be  strictly  attended  to,  severity  exercised, 
but  the  doors  of  mercy  should  never  be  shut."  2 

'"Washington's  Writings,"  Ford  Ed.,  Vol.  VI.,  241. 
2  "  Records  of  North  Carolina,"  Vol.  XL,  552. 


CHARGED    WITH  TREASON.  273 

It  is  true,  however,  that  the  actual  number  of 
executions  was  very  small  as  compared  with  the 
number  either  found  guilty  of  treason  by  actual 
trial  or  attainted  with  that  crime.  Many  joined  the 
British  and  never  returned,  others  escaped  after 
trial,  and  many  were  pardoned  by  tender-hearted 
legislators.  In  fact,  for  every  severe  enactment  to 
be  found  in  the  session  laws  of  the  several  states, 
there  are  ten  acts  of  pardon  or  abatement  of  the 
severer  clauses  of  the  original  law.  Many,  indeed, 
were  only  pardoned  on  condition  of  joining  the 
patriot  army,  and,  as  this  same  alternative  was 
sometimes  granted  to  a  forger  or  a  horse-thief,  the 
quality  of  the  mercy  may  seem  strained.1 

Not  only  were  the  refugee  loyalists  debarred  from 
the  hope  of  returning  to  their  homes  because  they 
had  been  attainted  with  treason,  but  they  had  no 
property  with  which  to  resume  the  old  life,  even  if 
permitted  to  return  unmolested  to  their  former 
dwelling  places.  Every  vestige  of  their  possessions 
had  been  taken  from  them,  at  first  by  a  nibbling 
system  of  fines  and  special  taxation,  and  later  by 
an  all-devouring  rage  for  confiscation. 

Very  early  in  the  Revolution,  the  Whigs  tried  to 
drive  the  Tories  into  the  patriot  militia  or  into  the 
Continental  army  by  fines  and  by  obliging  them  to 
hire   substitutes.     The   families    of  men   who   had 
fled  from  the  country  to  escape  implication  in  the 
impending  war  were  obliged  to  hire  substitutes,  and 
l"  Colonial  Records  of  Pennsylvania, "  Vol.  XII.,  222. 
19 


274  THE   LOYALISTS. 

then  were  fined  for  the  misdeeds  of  the  mercenary 
whom  they  had  engaged.  Fines  were  even  im 
posed  upon  neutral  and  unoffending  persons  for  not 
preventing  members  of  their  family  from  entering 
the  British  service.  If  the  fines  were  refused,  the 
property  was  recklessly  sold  to  the  amount  of  the 
fine  and  costs  of  action.  In  addition  to  this  drain 
on  Tory  property  there  quickly  followed  the  fines 
and  amercements  for  refusing  the  test  oath  or  for 
acts  aiding  the  British.  Loyalists,  convicted  of  en 
tering  the  enemy's  lines,  could  be  fined  as  high  as 
2,000  pounds,  and  even  the  unsuccessful  attempt 
to  enter  might  be  punished  by  a  fine  of  1,000 
pounds.1  Persons  abusing  the  use  of  passports 
suffered,  a  like  amercement.  If  the  property  of  the 
offender  failed  to  answer  for  his  offences,  he  became 
subject  to  corporal  punishment ;  whipping,  brand 
ing,  cropping  the  ears,  and  exposure  in  the  pillory 
being  resorted  to  in  some  of  the  states.  Every 
possible  mode  of  manifesting  loyalty  was  subjected 
to  a  fine.  Speaking  or  writing  favorably  of  Great 
Britain  had  its  price.  Dissuading  any  one  from  en 
tering  the  Continental  army  or  speaking  ill  of  the 
Continental  currency  was  punished  by  a  fine. 

In  New  York  and  South  Carolina,  the  Loyalists 
were  obliged  to  make  good  all  robberies  committed 
within  their  county,  and  were  specially  taxed  for 
that  purpose.  The  supposition  was  that  the  enemies 
of  independence  encouraged  the  robbers  in  order 

*  "Acts  of  New  Jersey,"  October  8,  1778,  p.  60. 


CHARGED    WITH  TREASON.  2j$ 

to  hurt  the  American  cause.  In  Maryland  and 
Virginia,  a  treble  tax  was  placed  on  the  estates  of 
all  non-jurors  and  absentees.  Permission  was  gen 
erally  given  to  appropriate  loyalist  property  for 
Continental  purposes,  such  as  using  the  timber  on 
Tory  lands  to  build  Continental  vessels. 

As  the  war  progressed  the  greed  for  Loyalists' 
property  was  less  restrained.  The  financial  straits 
of  the  states  tempted  them  to  look  upon  Tory 
property  as  a  source  of  revenue,  and,  under  the 
conviction  that  they  wished  only  to  make  neutrality 
expensive,  or  to  punish  internal  enemies,  or  compel 
absentees  to  pay  their  proportion  of  the  war  ex 
penses,  the  states  began  to  amerce  loyal  estates, 
and  then  to  declare  them  forfeited  altogether  to 
the  offended  commonwealth. 

That  the  Whigs  had  early  had  a  covetous  eye 
upon  the  Tory  property  seems  hardly  dubitable ; 
for  the  legislative  bodies  had  hastened  to  pass  such 
laws  as  would  prevent  those  suspected  of  Toryism 
from  transferring  their  property  either  by  real  or 
pretended  sale.  They  also  made  efforts  to  stop 
the  plundering  of  the  estates  of  absentees  —  which 
was  rather  an  interested  benevolence  than  a  shining 
example  of  revolutionary  altruism.  These  efforts 
were  made  to  prevent  individual  plunderers  enrich 
ing  themselves  by  preying  upon  the  Tories,  but 
the  disposition  of  the  property  was  such  that,  if  the 
Revolution  succeeded,  the  proceeds  would  fall  into 
the  coffers  of  the  state. 


276  THE   LOYALISTS. 

The  state  interference  was,  no  doubt,  needed,  for 
the  depredations  were  carried  so  far  that  the  power 
less  Tories  were  robbed  of  their  common  house  and 
kitchen  utensils,  and  even  of  their  wearing  apparel. 
Friends,  who  tried  to  guard  the  property  of  refugees, 
nailed  up  the  doors  that  led  to  rooms  containing 
valuable  furniture,  but  were  obliged,  by  bullying 
committeemen,  to  remove  their  barricades  and  give 
up  their  treasures.  The  members  of  one  wealthy 
refugee's  family  were  reduced,  in  their  housekeep 
ing,  to  broken  chairs  and  tea  cups,  and  to  "  dipping 
the  water  out  of  an  iron  skellet  into  the  pot  as  cheer 
fully  as  if  they  were  using  a  silver  urn."  The  furni 
ture  had  been  removed,  though  the  family  pictures 
still  hung  "  in  the  blue  room,"  and  the  harpsichord 
stood  in  the  passage  way  to  be  abused  by  the 
children  and  people  who  passed  through. 

In  towns  containing  a  minority  of  Tories,  de 
sirable  articles  of  their  personal  property  were 
pften  raffled  off  by  the  authorities.  The  militia, 
Jtoo,  plundered  without  ceremony  all  who  in  any 
^Kvay  were  suspected  of  Toryism.  Horses,  cows, 
poultry,  and  every  movable  possession  of  a  Tory 
became  regarded  as  contraband  of  war.  Loyal 
farmers  complained  that  soldiers  from  neighboring 
camps  cut  their  timber  and  burned  their  fences, 
until  the  once  beautiful  lands  looked  like  "  an  un 
frequented  desert."  The  vandals  appropriated 
everything  they  fancied  —  furniture,  dishes,  liquors, 
1 " James  Murray,  Loyalist,"  p.  245. 


CHARGED    WITH  TREASON.  277 

and  even  the  family  chaise.  Washington  forbade 
the  soldiery  molesting  any  one  on  the  pretense  that 
he  was  a  Tory,  but  his  command  came,  said  a 
Loyalist,  like  Venetian  succor  —  rather  late.  It 
was  noted,  too,  when  men  were  actually  tried  for 
theft,  that  the  act  was  condoned  if  the  victim  had 
been  mistaken  for  a  Tory,  and  altogether  excused 
if  actually  shown  to  be  of  that  political  persua 
sion.1 

When,  however,  the  idea  had  gained  ground  that  / 
the  confiscation  of  Loyalists'  estates  would  provide 
the  sinews  of  war,  and  it  was  realized  that  a  vulner 
able  point  of  attack  upon  the  refugees  was  the  real 
estate  they  had  left  behind,  the  state  governments 
began  in  a  most  thorough  manner  to  confiscate  all 
manner  of  Tory  wealth,  and  to  protect  it  from  fur 
ther  vandalism.  The  vigorous  and  resourcefu 
author  of  "  Common  Sense,"  the  pamphlet  which, 
it  was  said,  "  turned  Tories  Whigs,  and  washed  black- 
amores  white,"  had  urged,  even  before  the  Declara 
tion  of  Independence,  that  the  Patriots  should  seize 
all  the  property  of  their  opponents  to  carry  on  the 
war.  That  gave  the  idea  wide  circulation,  and 
some  of  the  states  began  the  work  before  the 
famous  resolution  of  Congress,  late  in  I/77,2 
recommended  that  the  states  confiscate  and  sell  the 
real  and  personal  property  of  persons  who  had  for- 

lFor  an  example  see  "George  Clinton  Papers,"  Vol.  I.,  530. 
2  Nov.  27.   See  "Journals  of  Congress,"  Philadelphia,  1880,  Vol. 
III. 


278  THE   LOYALISTS. 

feited  "  the  right  to  protection,"  and  to  invest  the 
money  arising  from  these  sales  in  Continental  loan 
certificates.  The  approval  of  Congress  gave  the 
plan  widespread  popularity,  and,  though  in  some 
of  the  states  the  measure  met  bitter  opposition,1  all, 
in  time,  seized  the  loyalist  property  for  the  uses  of 
the  commonwealth. 

The  mode  of  confiscation  varied  in  different  prov 
inces.  Some  states  gave  the  Loyalists  a  preliminary 
warning  of  the  stroke  that  would  come  in  case  they 
did  not  take  the  oath  and  conduct  themselves  as 
patriots.  Others  granted  an  alternative,  while  the 
remainder  made  a  sudden  legislative  onslaught 
upon  the  coveted  property,  giving  the  owners  no 
opportunity  to  recant  and  save  their  possessions. 
An  invidious  class  hatred  of  the  Loyalists  as  the 
largest  landowners,  and  even  personal  spite,  in  some 
cases,  lent  a  peculiar  zeal  to  these  attacks  on  the 
Tory  property. 

The  execution  of  the  work  of  confiscation  shows 
some  differences  in  the  manner  of  seizure.  Some 
states  gave  the  owners  the  right  of  trial  by  jury  to 
determine  the  legality  of  the  seizure,  while  others 
confiscated  in  a  peremptory  manner  by  attainder. 
Sometimes,  the  work  was  left  to  the  regular  execu 
tive  officers  in  the  state,  such  as  the  sheriffs  and 
constables  ;  while,  in  other  places,  special  commis- 

!See  Rivington* 's  Gazette,  January  26,  1780,  for  trouble  in  Mary 
land,  also  see  "North  Carolina  Records,"  XIII.,  578,  612,  863, 
870,  872,  898,  930,  963,  977,  989,  991. 


CHARGED    WITH  TREASON.  279 

sioners1  were  appointed  for  the  work,  or  trustees 
were  selected  by  the  judges  of  probate.  The 
method  of  selling  the  confiscated  estates  was  usually 
prescribed  in  the  law,  which  authorized  sales  by 
auction  or  the  slower  method  of  holding  until  a 
purchaser  presented  himself.  Provision  was  made 
for  selling  on  credit,  though  in  that  case  bonds  were 
exacted.  In  some  cases  the  payment  could  be  made 
in  certificates,  which  were  issued  by  the  treasurer 
to  the  persons  loaning  their  money  to  the  state 
treasury.  At  the  sales  these  certificates  could  be 
used  as  specie.  It  was  the  same  plan  that  was  later 
resorted  to  by  the  French  revolutionary  govern 
ment,  when  it  pledged  the  confiscated  property  of 
the  clergy  for  the  redemption  of  its  paper  issues. 

To  prevent  "  dangerous  monopolies  of  land,"  the 
estates  were  to  be  divided  and  sold  in  small  tracts. 
Finally,  none  but  persons  who  had  taken  the  test 
oath  were  permitted  to  buy.  This  not  only  re 
warded  patriotism,  the  laws  declared,  but  prevented 
collusive  purchases  of  land  by  the  friends  of  the 
forfeiting  Loyalists.  In  nearly  every  case,  a  chari 
table  clause  in  the  confiscation  laws  provided  for 
the  care  of  the  wife  and  children  of  the  offender  out 
of  the  proceeds  of  the  estate.  In  practice,  how 
ever,  even  this  charity  degenerated,  and  we  hear 
of  two  aristocratic  ladies  using  their  coach  house 
as  their  dining  room,  and  the  " fowl  house"  as 

i  See  for  a  good  account  of  their  work  Flick's  "  Loyalism  in  New 
York,"  Chapter  VII. 


280  THE   LOYALISTS. 

their  bed-chamber.  The  picture  continues  in  char 
acter,  "the  old  lady  looks  as  majestic  even  there, 
and  dresses  with  as  much  elegance  as  if  she  were 
in  a  palace."  1 

In  spite  of  the  great  opportunities  for  corruption, 
and  the  plain  evidence  that  these  opportunities  were 
improved,2  great  sums  came  into  the  state  treasuries 
as  the  proceeds  of  these  sales  of  forfeited  lands.  In 
New  York,  alone,3  over  $3,600,000  worth  of  prop 
erty  was  acquired  by  the  state,  although  lands  in 
New  York  City,  Long  Island  and  Staten  Island 
practically  escaped  confiscation,  because  that  terri 
tory  was  in  British  power  until  1783,  and  then  the 
zeal  for  confiscation  had  abated.  The  important  and 
lasting  result  of  confiscation,  however,  in  New  York 
and  elsewhere,  was  that  large  manors  and  estates 
were  cut  up  into  small  lots  and  sold  to  the  common 
people,  thus  leveling,  equalizing  and  making  more 
democratic  the  whole  social  structure.4 

The  justice  of  the  confiscation  laws  was  defended 
in  their  preambles.  The  Virginia  House  of  Dele 
gates  made  a  defense  of  confiscation  the  object  of  a 
special  resolution,  which  asserted,  "That  confisca 
tion  laws,  being  founded  upon  legal  principles,  were 
strongly  dictated  by  that  principle  of  common  justice 

1  "James  Murray,  Loyalist,"  p.  253. 

2  Curwen  asserted  that  not  two  pence  in  the  pound  came  into  the 
Massachusetts  treasury  from  the  lands  confiscated  there.     See  Cur- 
wen,  "Journal,"  p.  147. 

8  See  Flick,  «  Loyalism  in  New  York,"  p.  159. 
«See  Flick,  Ibid.,  p.  160. 


CHARGED    WITH  TREASON.  281 

which  demands  that,  if  virtuous  citizens,  in  defence 
of  their  natural  rights,  risk  their  life,  liberty  and 
property  on  their  success,  vicious  citizens,  who  side 
with  tyranny  and  oppression,  or  cloak  themselves 
under  the  mask  of  neutrality,  should  at  least  hazard 
their  property  and  not  enjoy  the  labors  and  dangers 
of  those  whose  destruction  they  wished."  l  Such 
was  the  general  trend  of  the  arguments  for  defense, 
though  they  usually  added  a  long  account  of  the 
"murders,  rapine,  and  devastation"  of  which  the 
Loyalists  had  been  guilty,2  and  to  avenge  which  the 
confiscations  were  j  ustifiable.  Washington  approved 
heartily  of  the  confiscation  acts,  and  thought  the 
state  of  affairs  demanded  such  severity. 

The  effect  upon  the  Loyalists  was  overwhelm-] 
ing.  They  pled  in  vain  the  injustice  of  it.  Grant,/ 
they  argued,  that  the  opponents  of  independence 
were  necessarily  removed  from  among  the  people 
where  their  influence  might  do  harm,  but  why  add 
to  their  banishment  any  punishment  affecting  their 
property  ?  By  removing  the  man  the  measure  of 
public  justice  is  full ;  by  adding  to  that  punishment, 
it  runs  over.  The  one  derives  its  justice  from  a  re 
gard  to  self-preservation,  which,  when  well-founded, 
is  right ;  the  other  is  an  act  of  vindictive  justice, 
which  is  due  only  to  overt  acts,  and  transgressions 
of  known  laws.  Confiscation  perpetuates  the  of- 

1  Almon's  "Remembrancer,"  Vol.   10,  92,  2d  part;  date  Dec. 
17,  1782. 

2  See,  for  example,  "  Laws  of  Georgia,"  Philadelphia,  1800,  C.  T. 
Cole,  p.  242.     Law  dated  May  4,  1782. 


282  THE  LOYALISTS. 

fender's  punishment  down  to  innocent  posterity,  and 
can  there  be  a  more  melancholy  spectacle  than  a 
whole  family  overwhelmed  with  misery  from  the 
crime  of  their  chief?1 

Realizing,  however,  the  futility  of  argument,  the 
Loyalists  tried  intimidation.  Stories  got  abroad  of 
men  who  bought  confiscated  houses  having  their 
throats  mysteriously  cut  in  the  night  while  sleeping 
in  their  new  possessions.  Notices  appeared  in  the 
loyal  gazettes,  whence  they  were  derisively  pub 
lished  in  the  patriot  papers,  threatening  the  severest 
persecution  upon  the  return  of  peace  if  any  one 
bought  the  writer's  confiscated  estate.2  Another 
refugee  threatened  "  that  august  body,  the  Exe 
cutive  Council  of  Pennsylvania."  He  had  noticed 
their  late  advertisement  for  selling  estates  and  his 
was  "luckily"  among  them.  "Luckily,"  he  ex 
plained,  "  because  he  was  sure  from  the  great 
quantity  of  old  rags  which  they  had  the  modesty  to 
call  money,  that  his  estate  would  sell  for  at  least 
twenty  times  its  real  worth,  though  a  good  title 
could  not  be  obtained  without  his  consent.  If  he 
liked  the  bargain,  he  would  insist  upon  it,  but  the 
purchaser  must  remember  that  he  must  be  paid  in 
good,  hard,  Spanish  milled  dollars.  Soft  money 
would  not  satisfy  such  a  hardened  Tory.  He  hoped 
that  the  purchaser  would  be  a  good  warm  Whig 

1  "  Life  of  Peter  Van  Schaack,"  p.  114.  See,  however,  "  James 
Murray,  Loyalist,"  p.  171. 

*  Rivingtorf  s  Gazette,  August  3,  1782. 


CHARGED    WITH  TREASON.  283 

with  a  good  hoard  of  hard  dollars,  for  reprisal  was 
his  maxim."1 

Such  laughable  and  impotent  threats  were  natu 
rally  of  no  avail,  and,  when  the  full  meaning  of 
the  confiscation  acts  came  upon  the  Loyalists,  they 
realized  their  desperate  straits  and  turned  to  the 
consideration  of  a  means  of  saving  their  worldly 
possessions,  with  honor. 

As  a  tentative  measure,  a  number  of  the  victims 
sent  a  memorial  to  the  commissioners  from  the  king, 
setting  forth  that,  since  the  reconciliation  of  the 
"  friends  of  government"  with  their  country  had 
become  an  object  of  the  attention  of  his  Majesty's 
Commissioners,  and,  as  it  was  doubtful  whether  the 
Commissioners  would  be  able  to  negotiate  with  the 
American  Congress  or  even  with  the  individual 
states,  would  it  not  be  well  for  the  Loyalists  them 
selves  to  try  to  make  terms  with  the  American 
states,  agreeable,  of  course,  to  the  British  govern 
ment  ?  Would  this  not  help  the  general  reconcilia 
tion  ?  Could  not  the  Loyalists,  even  if  the  war 
continued,  better  help  to  eventual  conciliation  ? 
Their  estates,  in  their  own  hands,  would  contribute 
less  to  aid  the  American  cause  than  in  the  patriot 
hands.  This  was,  of  course,  merely  a  suggestion, 
and  they  would  do  as  the  Commissioners  directed. 
They  closed  with  an  appeal  requesting  that  it  be 
remembered  that  they  had  left  their  families  and 
fortunes,  friends  and  connections  in  the  country ; 

1  Rivington? 's  Gazette,  April  28,  1779- 


284  THE  LOYALISTS. 

that  the  war  had  occasioned  separation  from  these 
for  more  than  three  years,  and  that  their  happiness 
and  prosperity  must  depend  upon  their  being  enabled 
at  some  future  time  to  return  to  their  country.  It 
must  surely  be  acknowledged  that  the  time,  manner 
and  terms  thereof  are  objects  of  the  last  impor 
tance  and  such  as  call  for  the  indulgence  of  that 
government  to  which  they  had  adhered  at  the  risk 
of  their  lives  and  fortunes.1  They  enclosed  with 
this  proposal  to  the  commissioners  a  copy  of  the 
sort  of  memorial  that  they  wished  to  send  to  the 
state  government.  In  this  document,  after  an 
eloquent  appeal  for  a  conciliatory  reception2  they 
suggested,  without  raising  again  the  subjects  of 
dissension,  that  they  draw  over  them  a  veil  of 
mutual  forgiveness  and  perpetual  oblivion.  They 
had,  it  was  true,  differed  in  opinion,  but  both,  doubt 
less,  desired  the  happiness  of  their  country.  They 
did  not  believe  that  the  state  government  would 
want  concessions  inconsistent  with  their  manliness, 
and  offered  the  following  terms:  (i)  The  state 
should  make  the  refugees  the  subject  of  an  act  of 
amnesty  and  naturalization,  which  should  include 
all  who  would  comply  with  the  conditions.  (2) 
The  state  should  restore  the  Loyalists  to  their 
property  and  recommend  the  people  of  the  state 
to  receive  the  returning  refugees  and  protect  them. 
On  the  part  of  the  memorialists,  they  would  become 

i  Stevens'  "Facsimiles,"  No.  1128,  dated  August  20,  1778. 
2 Stevens'  Ibid.,  No.  1129. 


CHARGED    WITH  TREASON.  285 

peaceable  subjects  of  the  state's  law  and  govern 
ment,  and  would  pay  their  proportion  of  the  debt 
on  account  of  the  war.  Should  these  terms  be 
rejected  they  called  upon  God  to  witness  that  they 
did  not  occasion  further  war. 

Whether  this  protocol  would  ever  have  received 
the  serious  consideration  of  the  state  legislatures  is 
a  matter  of  conjecture,  but  they  were  never  given 
the  opportunity,  for  the  commissioners  objected  to 
any  reconciliation  except  upon  the  terms  offered  by 
themselves  to  the  American  Congress.  When  this 
hope  was  thus  extinguished,  the  Loyalists  gave 
themselves  up  to  watching  the  progress  of  the  war 
and  yearning  for  a  favorable  outcome.  In  such  a 
state,  then,  with  absolutely  no  salvation  but  in  the 
complete  victory  of  the  British  arms,  it  is  not 
strange  that  the  news  of  a  treaty,  which  did  not 
guarantee  the  restoration  of  their  property,  threw 
them  into  the  depths  of  despair. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

EXPATRIATION. 

ON  March  26,  1783,  Rivington's  "  Royal  Lying 
Gazette,"  as  the  Whigs  called  it,  published  in  New 
York  the  first  authentic  news  of  the  treaty  of  peace. 
The  interest  of  the  refugees  centered  in  the  fifth 
and  sixth  articles  ^f  thf  t^pty  The  fifth,  besides 


providing  for  the  restitution  of  the  confiscated  prop- 
erty  of  the  British  subjects,  stipulated  that  ""persons 


of  any  other  description" — meaning  Loyalists  — 
might  go  into  any  part  of  the  United .  States,  for 
twelve  months,  unmolested,  in  the  effort  to  obtain 
the  restitution  of  their  confiscated  estates.  Con 
gress  agreed  earnestly  to  recommend  the  states  to 
revise  their  confiscation  laws,  to  make  them  con 
sistent  with  the  spirit  of  conciliation,  which  should 
prevail  upon  the  return  of  peace.  The  states  should 
be  askej^  to  restore  the  confiscated  property  to  the 
Loyalists  who  would  refund  the  price  paid  by  the 
persons  now  holding  such  property.  The  sixth 
article  was  designed  to  guard  the  Loyalists  against 
any  future  confiscations  or  persecutions  on  account 
of  the  part  they  had  taken  in  the  war.  Neither 
should  they  suffer  any  future  loss,  nor  should  those 

286 


EXPATRIATION.  287 

then  in  confinement  be  held  after  the  ratification  of 
the  treaty.1 

The  commissioners  who  had  negotiated  the 
treaty,  had  long  and  bitterly  discussed  the  question 
of  amnesty  and  compensation  for  the  Loyalists. 
The  French  minister,  even,  had  urged  it,  moved,  it 
was  thought,  by  the  idea  that  the  presence  of  the 
Tories  in  America  would  keep  up  two  rival  parties 
whose  antagonism  the  French  might  use  to  their 
advantage.2  John  Adams  favored  compensating 
"  the  wretches  how  little  soever  they  deserve  it, 
nay,  how  much  soever  they  deserve  the  contrary,"  : 
but  the  commissioners  hesitated  "  to  saddle " 
America  with  the  Tories,  because  they  feared  the 
opposition  at  home,  especially  by  the  individual 
states.  The  British  demands  had  finally  been  met 
with  the  mere  promise  that  Congress  would  recom 
mend  to  the  states  a  conciliatory  policy  with  refer 
ence  to  the  Loyalists. 

This  solution  neither  satisfied  the  Loyalists  nor 
the  more  chivalrous  Englishmen.  One  declared 
that  the  whole  peace  was  a  shame  which  only  pro 
claimed  the  British  as  beaten  cowards  incapable  of 
protecting  the  adherents  to  their  wretched  fortunes.'1 
Another  thought  the  provision  concerning  the 
Loyalists  was  " precipitate,  impolitic"  and  "cruelly 

'Journals  of  Congress,  September  3,  1783. 
2  John  Adams'  "Works,"  Vol.  II.,  307. 
*Ibid.y  Vol.  IX.,  516. 
*  Stevens'  "Facsimiles,"  1055. 


288  THE  LOYALISTS. 

neglectful  of  our  American  friends."  1  A  Loyalist 
wrote  bitterly,  in  the  Gazette,  that  "  even  robbers, 
murderers  and  rebels  are  faithful  to  their  fellows 
and  never  betray  each  other,"  and  he  asked  if 
Britain  was  to  be  more  perfidious  than  they.  A 
rhymster  cried, 

"  'Tis  an  honor  to  serve  the  bravest  of  nations, 
And  be  left  to  be  hanged  in  their  capitulations."  2 

But  all  the  cavilling  was  unreasonable  and  hasty, 
for  England  had  gotten  for  the  Loyalists  the  utmost 
attainable  in  the  treaty  and,  later,  proved  honorable 
and  generous  in  the  highest  degree  by  compensating 
the  Loyalists  out  of  her  own  treasury. 

Whatever  the  Loyalists  might  think  of  the  care 
taken  of  them  by  the  British  peace  commissioners, 
the  fact  of  a  treaty  of  peace  made  their  immediate 
departure  from  New  York  imperative.  They  had 
been  assured  by  the  king,  through  Sir  Hemy 
Clinton,  that  no  place  in  which  there  were  Loyal 
ists  and  British  troops  would  be  surrendered  upon 
terms  which  discriminated  between  them,  and  that 
refugees  might  rely  upon  the  utmost  attention  being 
shown  to  their  safety  and  welfare;3  but  it  was  plain 
to  all  that,  when  the  troops  went,  the  refugees  must 
go  also  or  be  left  to  the  mercy  of  the  uncertain 
temper  of  the  returning  Whigs. 

The  British  posts  at  Charleston  and  Savannah 
had  already  been  evacuated.  Some  3,000  of  the 

Stevens'  "  Facsimiles,"   1054. 

2G.  W.  Greene,  "Hist.  View,"  etc.,  p.  431. 

^Rivington's  Gazette,  March  9,  1782. 


EXPA  TRIA  TION.  2  89 

loyal  inhabitants  had  left  the  former  place  for 
Jamaica,  St.  Augustine,  Halifax  or  New  York, 
which  was  the  last  loyal  refuge  in  the  United 
States.  Fifty  of  the  two  hundred  sail  which  left 
Charleston  came  to  New  York.1  Some  7,000  per 
sons,  besides  the  British  soldiers,  left  Savannah,  and 
about  5,000  of  these  were  negroes,  property  of  the 
wealthy,  loyal  planters.  Most  of  these  sailed  for 
St.  Augustine,  and  the  remainder  reached  Charles 
ton  just  in  time  to  swell  the  number  of  Loyalists 
about  to  leave  that  post.2  By  this  gradual  reduc 
tion  of  the  number  of  British  posts,  the  entire  com 
pany  of  refugees  in  America  was  concentrated  in 
New  York. 

Early  in  1782,  bands  of  Loyalists  had  begun  to 
leave  New  York.  Sailing  boats  bound  out  adver 
tised  for  emigrants,  and  boasted  particularly  of  their 
armament.  The  newspapers  began  to  be  filled  with 
offers  of  property  for  sale.  "  Genteel  furniture" 
was  at  a  great  discount,  as  were  all  goods  difficult 
to  move,  such  as  china  and  glassware.  Houses 
and  stores  were  also  offered  for  sale  because  the 
owners  had  little  faith  in  the  promises  of  Congress 
or  the  will  of  the  states  to  obey  them.  Merchants 
urged  their  debtors  to  pay  their  accounts  at  once  ; 
and  Loosely,  the  tavern  keeper,  issued  an  address 
which  urged  those  gentlemen  who  were  about  to 

1  Rivingtori 's  Gazette,  January  8,  1783,  November  30,  1782. 
2 Ibid.,  August  28,  1782.     Arrived  in  Charleston,  July  30,  1782. 

20 


290  THE  LOYALISTS. 

leave  the  country  not  to  forget  with  what  generosity 
he  had  always  treated  them.  Rivington,  the  prin 
ter,  showed  his  appreciation  of  the  coming  evacua 
tion  by  an  apology  to  the  public.  He  was,  he  said, 
"  Sensible  that  his  zeal  for  the  success  of  his 
Majesty's  Arms,  his  sanguine  wishes  for  the  good 
of  his  country,  and  his  friendship  for  individuals, 
had  at  times  led  him  to  credit  and  circulate  para 
graphs  without  investigating  the  facts  so  closely  as 
his  duty  to  the  public  demanded.  Hereafter  he 
would  err  no  more." 

This  conversion  from  " yellow  journalism"  was 
greeted  with  derision  by  the  Whig  papers  outside 
of  New  York.  A  wag  advertised  Rivington's  ex 
cess  stock  of  the  letters  R  E  B  E  L  for  sale.  Many 
hundred  weight  worn  out  in  his  Majesty's  service 
would  be  sold  for  the  value  of  the  metal.  Another 
proposed  making  Rivington's  whole  carcass  into 
portable  soup  for  the  use  of  the  lady  and  gentlemen 
Tories  bound  for  England.1  In  spite  of  these  wag- 

1  James  Rivington's  "Reflections"  appeared  in  the  Freeman's 
Journal,  December  4,  1782. 

"The  more  I  reflect,  the  more  plain  it  appears, 
If  I  stay,  I  must  stay  at  the  risque  of  my  ears, 
I  have  so-be-peppered  the  foes  of  our  throne, 
Be-rebeled,  be-deviled,  and  told  them  their  own, 
That  if  we  give  up  to  these  rebels  at  last 
Tis  a  chance  if  my  ears  will  atone  for  the  past. 

[If  there  is  an  evacuation.  ] 
Yet  still  I  surmise  for  aught  I  can  see 
No  Congress  or  Senates  would  meddle  with  me. 
For  what  have  I  done,  when  we  come  to  consider, 


EXPA  TRIA  TION.  29 1 

gish  attacks,  and  others  more  vicious,  Rivington 
tried  to  conciliate  the  Whigs,  and  continued  the 
publication  of  his  Gazette,  after  the  Whigs  returned 
to  New  York,  but  was  obliged  to  give  way  before 
the  popular  antipathy. 

Long  before  the  actual  evacuation  by  the  British 
troops,  the  departure  of  the  Loyalists  began.     The 

But  sold  my  commodities  to  the  best  bidder  ? 

If  I  offered  to  lie  for  the  sake  of  a  post 

Was  I  to  be  blamed  if  the  king  offered  most  ? 

[Ridicules  Honor  and  Fame  when  compared  with  emolument] 
[True  the  Tories  might  defend  New  York,  but  he  doubts  it] 
...   As  a  very  last  shift 

We'll  go  to  New  Scotland  and  take  the  king's  gift. 

Good  folks  do  your  will  —  but  I  vow  and  I  swear 

I'll  be  boiled  into  soup  before  I'll  live  there  : 

Of  all  the  vile  countries  that  ever  were  known 

In  the  frigid  or  torrid  or  temperate  zone, 

(From  accounts  I  have  had)  there  is  not  such  another ; 

It  neither  belongs  to  this  world  or  the  other. 

A  favor  they  think  it  to  send  us  there  gratis 

To  sing  like  the  Jews  at  the  river  Euphrates. 

And  after  surmounting  the  rage  of  the  billows 

Hang  ourselves  up  at  last  with  our  harps  on  the  willows. 

Ere  I  sail  for  that  shore  may  I  take  my  last  nap  ; 

Why  it  gives  me  the  palsy  to  look  on  its  map. 

And  he  that  goes  there  (tho'  I  mean  to  be  civil) 

May  fairly  be  said  to  have  gone  to  the  devil. 

Shall  I  push  for  old  England  and  whine  at  the  throne  ? 

Alas  they  have  Jemmies  enough  of  their  own  ! 

Besides  such  a  name  I  have  got  from  my  trade, 

They  would  think  I  was  lying  whatever  I  said. 

In  short,  if  they  let  me  remain  in  this  realm, 
What  is  it  to  Jemmy  who  stands  at  the  helm  ?  " 


292  THE   LOYALISTS. 

King  offered  to  transport  all  loyal  subjects  who  had 
lived  within  the  British  lines  for  twelve  months. 
If  the  refugee  could  prove  a  residence  for  that 
length  of  time,  show  that  the  house  assigned  to  him 
was  in  good  repair  and  the  rent  paid  to  date,  he 
might,  after  paying  his  debts  and  listing  the  prop 
erty  that  he  wished  to  move,  be  entered  on  the 
books  of  the  adjutant  general  for  transportation  in 
some  one  of  his  Majesty's  ships. 

Previous  to  their  embarkation,  they  were  sup 
plied  from > the  King's  stores  with  provisions,  suffi 
cient  for  their  support  for  a  full  year.  An  allowance 
of  twenty-one  days'  rations  was  made  for  their  pass 
age.  The  government  also  furnished  comfortable 
clothing  for  the  men,  women  and  children,  together 
with  an  assortment  of  medicines,  various  kinds  of 
husbandry  tools,  various  arms  and  ammunition  for 
hunting  and  defence.1  Thus  equipped,  the  trans 
ports  would  set  sail  under  a  strong  convoy. 

In  the  anxiety  to  escape  the  predicted  merciless 
persecution  by  the  Whigs,  the  nature  of  the  land  to 
which  they  were  going  had  not  been  very  carefully 
studied.  Some  of  the  King's  Rangers,  who  had 
preceded  the  mass  of  the  emigrants,  had  published 
a  highly  colored  account  of  the  attractions  of  the 
Island  of*  St.  John.  The  soil  was  good,  well 
wooded,  and  free  from  rocks,  they  claimed.  The 
climate  was  good,  the  harbors  spacious,  safe  and 
numerous.  The  waters  abounded  with  shell  and 

J  Rivingtorfs  Gazette,  October  19,  1782. 


EXPATRIATION.  293 

fish.  The  taxes  were  few,  the  government  mild, 
and  the  lands  finely  situated  and  reasonable  in  price. 
Cattle  were  plentiful,  and  the  story  about  starvation 
was  nonsense.1  From  Nova  Scotia,  the  agents  for 
the  Loyalists  sent  most  favorable  accounts.  There 
were,  they  said,  great  business  opportunities,  as 
well  as  the  mere  necessities  for  subsistence.  Saw 
mills  could  be  erected  and  a  great  lumber  business 
carried  on  with  the  West  Indies.  The  fisheries 
would  develop  into  a  great  industry.  Cattle  and 
poultry  were  far  cheaper  than  on  Long  Island.2 
In  fact,  they  were  assured,  they  might  there,  under 
the  protection  of  a  good  government,  quietly  enjoy 
the  fruits  of  their  labor,  freed  from  the  "  detestable 
tyranny  of  seditious  demagogues." 

Lured  by  such  representations  and  sped  by  the 
fear  of  the  Whigs,  who  were  about  to  come  into 
the  possession  of  New  York,  over  29,000  refugees 
left  that  city  within  a  year.  Some  entered  the  new 
life  with  zest  and  endured  the  privations  with  good 
humor ;  but,  soon,  there  were  signs  of  discontent, 
and  complaints,  by  some,  that  they  had  been  de 
ceived.  One  wrote,  a  year  later,  "  all  our  golden 
promises  are  vanished  in  smoke.  We  were  taught 
to  believe  this  place  was  not  barren  and  foggy  as 
had  been  represented,  but  we  find  it  ten  times  worse. 
We  have  nothing  but  his  Majesty's  rotten  pork  and 

1  Rivingtori1  s  Gazette,  January  22,  1783. 

2Onderdonk's  ''Long  Island,"  pp.  255,  256.  Rivington1  s 
Gazette,  March  29,  1783. 


294  THE  LOYALISTS. 

unbaked  flour  to  subsist  on.  '  But  can't  you  bake 
it,  seeing  it  is  so  wooden  a  country  ?  '  Only  come 
here  yourself  and  you  will  soon  learn  the  reason. 
It  is  the  most  inhospitable  clime  that  ever  mortal 
set  foot  on."  1  The  winter,  it  was  said,  was  of  al 
most  insupportable  length  and  coldness.  There 
were  but  a  few  spots  to  cultivate,  and  the  land  was 
covered  with  a  cold,  spongy  moss  instead  of  grass. 
The  country  was  wrapt  in  the  gloom  of  perpetual  fog. 
The  Whigs  heard  with  delight  the  tales  of  dis- 
content  from  Nova  Scotia.  They  nicknamed  the 
land  "  Nova  Scarcity."  It  was  a  land,  they  said, 
that  belonged  neither  to  this  world  nor  the  other. 
It  was  enough  to  give  one  the  palsy,  just  to  look  at 
the  map.  However,  it  was  no  more  than  the  Tories 
deserved,  for,  in  addition  to  their  crimes  during  the 
war,  one  must  consider  their  conduct  on  leaving 
New  York.  They  had  left  the  churches  filthy  and 
dirty  from  the  uses  to  which  they  had  been  put ; 
they  had  raided  the  Whigs  who  returned  before 
the  British  evacuated,  and  'had  harried  the  country 
about  New  York,  burning  barns  and  haystacks, 
and  extorting  money  from  the  Whigs  by  beating 
them.2  Every  violence  which  was  the  result  of 
the  unsettled  political  and  social  condition  was 
confidently  laid  at  the  door  of  the  Tory. 

1  Onderdonk's  "  Long  Island,"  p.  256. 

2  For  a  good  account  of  the  evacuation  of  New  York  and  the 
departure  of  the  refugees,  see  McMaster,  "With  the  Fathers,"  p. 
274. 


EXPA  TRIA  TION.  295 

In  spite  of  the  recommendation  of  Congress, 
which  had  been  made  in  accordance  with  the  terms 
of  the  treaty,  little  moderation  could  be  seen  in  the 
legislation  concerning  the  Tories.  Confiscation 
still  went  on  actively  ;  governors  of  the  states  were 
urged  to  exchange  lists  of  the  proscribed  persons, 
that  no  Tory  might  find  a  resting  place  in  the 
United  States  ;  and  in  nearly  every  state  they  were 
disfranchised,1  while  in  many  localities  they  were 
tarred  and  feathered,  driven  from  town  and  warned 
never  to  return.2  In  the  South  where  the  partizan 
warfare  had  been  most  bitter,  the  Tories  fled  for 
their  lives,  and  a  few  of  the  bolder  ones  who  at 
tempted  to  return  to  their  homes,  were  warned  and 
then  attacked  ;  eight  being  murdered  and  the  rest 
fleeing  from  the  country.  In  New  York,  the  legis 
lature  passed  a  Trespass  Act,  in  which  all  persons, 
who  had  been  driven  from  their  homes  at  the 
coming  of  the  British,  were  given  the  legal  right  to 
recover  damages  against  those  who  had  used  their 
property  during  the  British  occupation.  The  act 
declared  that  a  military  order  —  the  usual  justifica 
tion  of  such  use  —  would  be  of  no  value  for  defence 
in  the  courts. 

Many  Whigs  hastened  at  once  to  secure  in 
demnity  from  the  Tories  who  had  used  their  prop- 

1  As  late  as  1801  Tories  were  disfranchised  in  Pennsylvania  ;  see 
"  Black  List,"  New  York,  1865,  p.  7.     See  also  Flick's  "  Loyalism 
in  New  York,"  p.  164. 

2  For  a  full  account  of  this  persecution  see  McMaster's  "  History 
of  the  United  States,"  Vol.  I.,  106-128. 


296  THE   LOYALISTS. 

erty,  and  who  still  remained  in  New  York,  hoping 
thus  to  save  the  little  property  that  the  war  had 
spared  them.  After  many  cases  had  been  decided 
in  favor  of  the  Whig  prosecutors,  a  case  came  up 
for  trial  in  which  the  plaintiff  was  a  widow,  and  the 
defendant  a  rich  Tory  merchant.  To  the  disgust 
of  the  Whigs,  Alexander  Hamilton  appeared  as 
counsel  for  the  Tory.  Indignation  ran  high,  and, 
when  the  verdict  was  rendered  in  favor  of  the  Tory, 
Hamilton  had  lost  tremendously  in  popularity  and 
gained  little  credit  because  of  his  brilliant  display 
of  forensic  ability. 

Hamilton  had  undertaken  the  defence,  because 
he,  with  other  eminent  W'higs,  thought  the  Tories 
ill-treated.  Only  a  short  time  before,  he  had  re 
ceived  a  letter  from  John  Jay,  then  in  Paris,  declar 
ing  that  "  violence  and  associations  against  the 
Tories  pay  an  ill  compliment  to  government,  and 
impeach  our  good  faith  in  the  opinion  of  some, 
and  our  magnanimity  in  the  opinion  of  many."  1 
"  The  Tories  are  almost  as  much  pitied  in  these 
countries  as  they  are  execrated  in  ours  ;  an  undue 
degree  of  severity  toward  them  would,  therefore, 
be  impolitic  as  it  would  be  unjustifiable.  They, 
who  incline  to  involve  that  whole  class  of  men  in 
indiscriminate  punishment  and  ruin,  certainly  carry 
the  matter  too  far.  It  would  be  an  instance  of  un 
necessary  rigour  and  unmanly  revenge,  without  a 
parallel,  except  in  the  annals  of  religious  bigotry 

1  Hamilton's  "History  of  the  United  States,"  Vol.  III.,  10. 


EXPA  TRIA  TION.  297 

and  blindness.  What  does  it  signify  where  nine 
tenths  of  these  people  are  buried?  Victory  and 
peace  should  in  my  mind  be  /allowed  ^y.  cleme.^y, 
moderation  and  benevolence,  and  we  should  be  care 
ful  not  to  sully  the  glory  of  the  revolution  by 
licentiousness  and  cruelty." 

Patrick  Henry,  when  making  a  plea  that  the 
Tories  might  return  unmolested,  had  been  told 
that  they  were  dangerous,  and  at  this  he  exclaimed  : 
"Afraid  of  them  !  —  what,  sirs,  shall  we  who  have 
laid  the  proud  British  lion  at  our  feet,  now  be  afraid 
of  his  whelps?"1  Many  reasons  were  advanced, 
by  those  who  reasoned  about  the  matter,  for  a 
generous  treatment  of  the  Tories.  John  Adams 
feared  that  any  trouble  the  United  States  might 
have  with  Canada  or  Nova  Scotia,  concerning  the 
fisheries,  would  arise  from  American  severity  to 
ward  the  Tories.  The  same  observation  might 
apply  to  the  fur  trade  and  the  posts  upon  the 
frontier.2 

Such  ideas,  however,  appealed  very  little  to  the 
great  mass  of  the  victorious  Whigs.  The  memory 
of  Tarleton's  raids,  of  the  Wyoming  Valley  massa 
cre,  of  the  prison  ships  and  churches  of  New  York, 
and  of  cities  burned  by  the  marauding  Tories  were 
still  fresh  in  mind,  and  were  not  to  be  reasoned  out. 
Indeed,  it  was  many  years  before  the  hatred  of  the 
Tories  was  mitigated,  and  the  War  of  1812  had 

l"  Library  of  American  Literature,"  Vol.  III.,  218. 
2 John  Adams'  "Works,"  Vol.  VIII.,  237. 


\ 


298  .  THE  LOYALISTS. 

been  fought  before  laws  against  the  Tories  had  dis 
appeared  from  the  statute  books. 

^housar^o  of  inconspicuous  Tories  did  neverthe 
less  succeed  in  remaining  in  the  United  States,  es 
pecially  in  large  cities,  where  their  identity  was  lost, 
and  they  were  not  the  objects  of  jealous  social  and 
political  exclusion  as  in  the  small  towns.1  The 
mass  of  those  who  had  taken  any  part  in  the  war 
were,  however,  at  some  time  during  the  revolution, 
or  immediately  after,  driven  into  exile,  for  the  most 
part  in  the  British  territory  lying  to  the  north  of 
the  United  States.2 

Throughout  the  war,  various  routes  through  New 
York  were  followed  by  the  escaping  Loyalists,  all 
leading  to  and  over  the  northern  and  western 
border.  As  a  rule,  voluntary  vexiles,  the  loyal 
provincial  troops,  and  those  driven  out  by  persecu 
tion,  went  during  the  war  to  some  place  in  Canada; 
the  Niagara  frontier,  Montreal  and  Quebec  being 
the  favorite  centers.  In  1778,  provision  having 
been  made  by  the  British  government,  some  three 
thousand  moved  into  upper -and  lower  Canada. 
During  the  next  four  years  hundreds  were  banished 
from  the  colonies,  and  joined  "the  earlier  groups. 
These  were  for  the  most  part  the  Tory  democracy  ; 

1  In  and  about  New  York  City,  thousands  pled  that  their  Toryism 
had  been  forced,  under  the  stress  of  British  occupancy.     As  their 
assertions  could  not  be  disproved,  and  as  they  were  in  a  majority, 
the  hostile  minority  was  not  able  to  wreak  its  vengeance. 

2  For  a  full  and  detailed  account  of  this  migration  see  Flick's 
"Loyalism  in  New  York,"  Chapter  VIII. 


EXPATRIATION.  299 

for  the  aristocratic  Tories  generally  fled  to  England 
to  await  the  outcome.  With  the  treaty  of  peace 
there  came  a  rush  for  British  American  territory. 
The  numbers  were  increased  in  Canada  to  some 
25,000  during  the  next  few  years  and  those  in 
Nova  Scotia  and  other  British  territory  swelled  the 
number  to  6o,ooo.1 

Most  of  these  exiles  became  in  one  way  or  an 
other  a  temporary  expense  to  the  British  govern 
ment,  and  the  burden  was  borne  honorably  and 
ungrudgingly.  The  care  began  during  the  war. 
The  Loyalists  who  aided  Burgoyne  were  provided 
with  homes  in  Canada,  and,  before  the  close  of  1779, 
nearly  a  thousand  refugees  were  cared  for  in  houses 
and  barracks,  and  given  fuel,  household  furniture, 
and  even  pensioned  with  money.  After  the  peace, 
thousands  of  exiles  at  once  turned  to  the  British 
government  for  temporary  support.  The  vast 
majority  had  lost  little,  and  asked  only  for  land 
and  supplies  to  start  life.  The  minority  who  had 
lost  lands,  offices  and  incomes  demanded  indemnity. 
As  for  the  members  of  the  humbler  class  the 
government  ordered  that  there  should  be  given 
500  acres  of  land  to  heads  of  families,  300  acres  to 
single  men,  and  each  township  in  the  new  settle 
ments  was  to  have  2,000  acres  for  church  purposes 

!See  Flick's  "  Loyal  ism  in  New  York"  where  the  details  and 
references  are  so  fully  given  that  there  is  no  need  of  repetition  here. 
I  have  investigated  these  questions  for  myself,  and,  as  I  agree  sub 
stantially  with  Mr.  Flick,  have  no  reason  for  duplicating  his  work. 


300  THE   LOYALISTS. 

and  1 ,000  for  schools.  Every  colonist  was  to  be 
exempted  from  fees  and  quit  rents  for  ten  years. 
Building  material  and  tools  —  an  axe,  a  spade,  a 
hoe  and  a  plow — were  furnished  each  head  of  a 
family.  Even  clothing  and  food  were  issued  to  the 
needy,  and,  as  late  as  1785,  there  were  26,000  en 
titled  to  rations.  Communities  were  equipped  with 
grindstones  and  the  machinery  for  grist  and  saw 
mills.  In  this  way  nearly  $5,000,000  were  spent 
to  get  Nova  Scotia  well  started  ;  and,  in  Upper 
Canada,  besides  the  three  million  acres  given  to 
Loyalists,  some  $4,000,000  were  expended  for  their 
benefit  before  1787. 

But  there  was  a  far  greater  burden  assumed  by 
the  British  government,  in  granting  the  compensa 
tion  asked  for  by  those  who  had  sacrificed  every 
thing  to  their  loyalty.1  Those  who  had  lost  offices 
or  professional  practice  were,  in  many  cases,  cared 
for  by  the  gift  of  lucrative  offices  under  the  govern 
ment,  and  Loyalist  military  officers  were  put  on 
half  pay,  but  there  were  many  not  to  be  thus  cared 
for.  To  those  who  could  not  be  employed  grants 
of  pensions  had  been  made  even  during  the  war, 
but  the  number  increased  so  greatly  in  1782  that 
Parliament  suspended  all  donations  until  a  Commit 
tee  could  investigate  both  old  and  new  claims. 
This  committee  struck  nearly  a  hundred  from  the 

]The  fullest  and  most  reliable  account  of  this  subject  is  found  in 
Wilmot's  "Historical  View  of  the  Commissioners  for  Enquiring 
into  the  Losses  ...  of  ...  Loyalists  from  each  Colony." 


EXPA  TRIA  TION.  30 1 

list,  but  added  four  times  as  many,  and  the  burden 
was  heavier  than  before. 

After  the  peace,  over  five  thousand  Loyalists 
submitted  claims  for  losses,  usually  through  the 
agents  appointed  by  the  refugees  from  each  Ameri 
can  colony.1  In  July  of  1/83,  a  commission  of  five 
members  was  appointed  by  Parliament  to  classify 
the  losses  and  services  of  the  Loyalists.  This  com 
mission  divided  the  Loyalists  into  six  classes:  (i) 
Those  who  had  rendered  services  to  Great  Britain  ; 
(2)  those  who  had  borne  arms  against  the  Revolu 
tion  ;  (3)  uniform  Loyalists  ;  (4)  Loyalists  resident 
in  Great  Britain ;  (5)  those  who  took  oaths  of 
allegiance  to  American  states,  but  afterwards  joined 
the  British  ;  (6)  those  who  took  arms  with  the 
Americans  and  later  joined  the  English  army  and 
navy.  They  then  examined  the  claims  with  an 
impartial  and  judicial  severity  which  the  Loyalists 
denounced  as  an  inquisition.  The  claimant  entered 
a  room  alone  with  the  commissioners,  and,  after 
telling  his  services  and  losses,  was  rigidly  ques 
tioned  concerning  fellow  claimants  as  well  as  him 
self.  The  claimant  then  submitted  a  written  and 
sworn  statement  of  his  losses.2  After  the  results  of 
both  examinations  were  critically  scrutinized,  the 
judges  made  the  awards.  They  refused  to  consider 

1  See  Wilmot,   p.   82.     They  were  the  arch-loyalists  from  each 
colony. 

2  The  memorandum  books  which  the  commissioners  used  in  mak 
ing  notes  while  conducting  the  examinations  in  Nova  Scotia  and 
Canada  are  now  in  the  MSS.  Department  of  the  Library  of  Congress. 


302  THE   LOYALISTS. 

losses  for  lands  bought  or  improved  during  the 
war ;  for  uncultivated  lands  ;  property  mortgaged 
to  its  full  value  or  with  defective  titles ;  for  ships 
captured  by  Americans  or  damage  done  by  British 
troops,  or  for  forage  used  by  or  furnished  to  them. 
Losses  due  to  a  fall  in  the  value  of  provincial  paper 
money,  robbery,  runaway  negroes,  crops  left  on 
the  ground  or  evaded  rents,  were  discarded.  Noth 
ing  was  allowed  for  expenses  or  suffering  in  prison, 
fines  paid  for  refusing  to  drill  with  the  patriot 
militia,  or  the  cost  of  living  in  New  York  city 
during  the  war.  Anticipated  professional  profits, 
and  losses  in  trade  and  labor  were  thrown  out. 
Claims  were  allowed  only  for  losses  of  property 
through  loyalty,  for  offices  held  before  the  war, 
and  for  the  loss  of  actual  professional  income.1 

The  commission  sat  at  first  in  England,  but  soon 
realized  that,  to  give  fair  opportunities  to  all  classes 
of,  claimants,  it  would  be  necessary  to  go  to  them. 
Thereupon,  Dundee  and  Pemberton  went  to  Nova 
Scotia,  and  John  Anstey  to  New  York.  Between 
the  years  1785  and  1789,  these  commissioners  sat 
in  Halifax,  St.  John's,  Quebec  and  Montreal.  In 
the  whole  course  of  their  work,  they  examined 
claims  to  the  amount  of  forty  millions  of  dollars, 
and  ordered  nineteen  millions  to  be  paid.2  At  first 

!See  Wilmot's  "Historical  View,"  pp.  69-78. 

2  In  the  most  complete  list  to  be  obtained  of  the  claims  admitted 
by  the  commissioners,  there  are  some  noteworthy  statistical  facts 
concerning  the  distribution  and  character  of  the  Loyalists.  941  out 
of  2,560  had  been  residents  of  New  York  when  the  war  broke  out. 


EXPATRIATION.  303 

the  per  cent,  that  was  granted  was  not  fixed,  but, 
later,  Pitt's  plan  was  adopted  which  fixed  by 
schedule  the  per  cent,  of  approved  losses  to  be 
paid,  giving  greater  consideration  to  the  small 
losers  than  the  great.  If,  to  the  cost  of  establish 
ing  the  Loyalists  in  Nova  Scotia  and  Canada,  we 
add  the  compensations  granted  in  money,  the  total 
amount  expended  by  the  British  government  for 
their  American  adherents,  was  at  least  thirty  millions 
of  dollars.  There  is  every  evidence  that  the  great 
est  care,  that  human  ingenuity  could  devise,  was 
exercised  to  make  all  these  awards  in  a  fair  and 
equitable  manner.  The  members  of  the  commis 
sion  were  of  unimpeachable  honesty.  Nevertheless, 
there  was  much  complaint  by  the  Loyalists,  not 
only  because  of  the  awards  of  the  commission,  but 
because  of  the  partial  failure  of  the  general  scheme 

Over  one  third,  then,  in  a  miscellaneous  list  of  Loyalists,  were  from 
New  York  ;  and  the  next  state  in  order  was  South  Carolina,  with 
only  321,  or  one  third  the  number  in  New  York. 

LOYALISTS  BY  PROVINCE. 

Complete  list  of  those  claiming  of  British  government. 

Vermont,                  6 1     New  York,              941  Virginia,  140 

New  Hampshire,    31     New  Jersey,           208  N.  Carolina,  135 

Massachusetts,       226     Pennsylvania,          148  S.  Carolina,  321 

Rhode  Island,         41     Delaware,                   9  Georgia,  129 

Connecticut,             92     Maryland,                 78  2,560 

Again,  a  rough  estimate  shows  that  nearly  two  thirds  were  not 
natives  of  America.  In  other  words,  the  active  Tory  of  the  American 
Revolution  was  such,  in  a  majority  of  cases,  because  he  had  not 
become  a  thorough  American,  had  not  yet  fully  imbibed  American 
ideas. 


\\ 


304  THE  LOYALISTS. 

for  giving  the  loyal  exiles  a  new  start  in  life.  The 
task  was  no  easy  one,  to  transfer  a  disheartened 
people  to  a  strange  land  and  a  trying  climate,  and 
let  them  begin  life  anew. 

What  the  experiences  of  these  exiles  were,  their 
hopes,  defeats  and  triumphs,  may  be  more  clearly 
seen  by  following  the  fortunes  of  one  community, 
though,  perhaps,  ultimately  an  unfortunate  one. 
The  town  of  Shelburne  at  Port  Roseway  in  Nova 
Scotia  is  best  suited  for  the  purpose.1  As  the  ship 
bearing  the  Loyalists  entered  the  harbor,  the  eyes 
of  the  exiles  could  see  no  spot  along  the  shore 
where  even  a  tent  could  be  set,  except  where  a 
pioneer  and  a  few  neighbors,  were  encamped. 
When  the  surveyors  had  selected  a  site,  and  the 
plan  of  the  town  was  agreed  upon,  they  set  about 
laying  out  five  long  parallel  streets,  crossed  by 
others  at  right  angles.  The  shore  was  to  be  cut 
up  by  small  lanes  and  divided  into  small  lots,  that 
each  settler  might  have  a  town  and  a  water  lot. 
Away  from  the  town  each  was  to  have  a  fifty-acre 
farm  lot.  Parties  now  went  about  cutting  the  trees 
and  clearing  the  lands,  and  soon  tents  were  pitched 
and  huts  erected.  Within  two  months  the  division 
of  the  lands  was  begun,  and  ownership  determined 
by  lot,  so  that,  at  last,  each  head  of  a  family  might 
point  out  a  certain  collection  of  rocks,  stumps  and 

1  See  the  article  by  Rev.  T.  Watson  Smith  in  the  "Collections  of 
the  Nova  Scotia  Historical  Society"  for  the  year  1887-88,  Vol.  VI., 
Halifax,  1888. 


EXPATRIATION.  305 

swamps  as  his  own.  They  had  hardly  completed 
these  formalities  when  they  were  perplexed  by  the 
arrival  of  five  thousand  exiles  more,  some  of  whom 
were  most  unwelcome  neighbors.  However,  new 
streets  were  run  on  the  land  reserved  for  commons, 
and  each  newcomer  settled  down  in  his  tent  or  hut 
on  his  own  land.  The  winter  was,  fortunately,  mild 
at  Shelburne,  but,  inland,  a  Loyalist  settlement  suf 
fered  terribly.  "  Women,  delicately  reared,  cared  for 
their  infants  beneath  canvas  tents,  rendered  habitable 
only  by  the  banks  of  snow  which  lay  six  feet  deep." 
"Strong  and  proud  men  wept  like  children,  and 
lay  down  in  their  snow-bound  tents  to  die."  Some 
of  the  Nova  Scotia  exiles  died  of  starvation  because 
the  supply  ships  failed  to  arrive  before  the  closing 
of  navigation.  At  Shelburne,  however,  British 
agents  issued  rations  all  winter  to  nearly  ten  thou 
sand  people. 

In  the  spring,  the  work  of  settlement  went  on 
slowly.  There  were  bickerings  and  dissensions 
among  themselves,  and  general  dissatisfaction  with 
the  provincial  government.  Heavy  duties  were  im 
posed  on  imported  goods,  though  the  new  colonists 
were  hardly  able  to  exist  with  the  aid  of  the  British 
government.  Political  strife  broke  out,  embittered 
by  personal  ambitions  and  social  intolerance.  The 
"  mixed  crowd  "  recently  exposed  to  all  the  unhal 
lowed  and  unsettling  influences  of  a  long  civil  war, 
was  very  hard  to  control.  "  Whoever  had  human 
form,"  especially  sailors  and  fishermen,  had  been 

21 


306  THE   LOYALISTS. 

encouraged   to    stay   because   the    colony    needed 
them. 

So  great  was  the  need  of  workingmen  to  develop 
the  colony  that  the  poor  roads  were  considered  a 
blessing,  and,  when  one  was  opened  that  led  to  a 
fertile  neighboring  valley,  the  rapid  depopulation 
of  the  town  put  an  end  to  roadmaking.  It  was 
said  that  the  people  staid  only  because  poverty 
brought  them  there,  and  poverty  kept  them  there. 
Except  the  King's  supplies  of  flour  and  pork,  the 
food  was  limited  to  fish  and  the  few  vegetables 
brought  by  irregular  coasting  vessels.  Fresh  meat 
was  rarely  tasted.  Nor  did  this  condition  improve, 
for  the  heart  and  enterprise  seemed  to  have  been 
taken  out  of  the  exiles.  They  neglected  the 
opportunities,  which  their  fine  harbor  and  timbered 
shores  offered,  of  a  lumber  and  shipbuilding  trade, 
and  simply  existed  on  fishing,  while  the  town 
gradually  dwindled.  As  the  deserted  dwellings 
increased  in  number,  the  town  became  repulsive  in 
itself.  It  became  a  city  of  untenanted  houses.  A 
visitor  said,  "  it  had  all  the  stillness  and  quiet  of  a 
moonlight  scene.  It  was  difficult  to  imagine  it 
was  deserted.  .  .  .  All  was  new  and  recent. 
Seclusion,  and  not  death  and  removal,  appeared  to 
be  the  cause  of  the  absence  of  inhabitants."  Many 
years  later  the  houses  had  disappeared.  "  Some 
had  been  taken  to  pieces  and  removed  to  Halifax 
or  St.  John  ;  others  had  been  converted  into  fuel, 
and  the  rest  had  fallen  a  prey  to  neglect  and 


EXPATRIATION.  307 

decomposition.  The  chimneys  stood  up  erect,  and 
.  .  .  bespoke  the  size  of  the  tenement  and  the 
means  of  its  owner.  In  some  places  they  had  sunk 
with  the  edifice,  leaving  a  heap  of  ruins  ;  while 
not  a  few  were  inclining  to  their  fall.  .  .  .  Hun 
dreds  of  cellars,  with  their  stone  walls  and  granite 
partitions,  were  everywhere  to  be  seen  like  un 
covered  monuments  of  the  dead.  Time  and  decay 
had  done  their  work." 

Failure  of  this  kind  led  many  to  brave  the  terrors  \ 
of  persecution  and  return  to  the  United  States,  but  I 
many  thousands  remained,  and,  when,  years  later, 
they  had  made  of  the  land  of  their  exile  a  mighty 
member  of  the  great  British  empire,  they  began  to 
glory  in  the  days  of  trial  through  which  they  had 
passed.  To-day,  their  descendants,  organized  as  the 
United  Empire  Loyalists,  count  it  an  honor  that 
their  ancestors  suffered  persecution  and  exile  rather 
than  yield  the  principle  and  the  ideal  of  union  with 
Great  Britain. 

The  cause  of  the  Loyalists  failed,  but  their  stand 
was  just  and  natural.  They  were  the  prosperous 
and  contented  men,  the  "men' without"^  grievance. 
Conservatism_was  the  only  polity  "that.  one,. could 
expect  of  them.  Men  do  not  rebel  to  rid  themselves 
oPpfospe>tty.  Prosperous  men  seek  to  conserve 
prosperity.  The  Loyalist  obeyed  his  nature  as  truly 
as  the  Patriot,  but,  as  events  proved,  chose  the  ill- 
fated  cause,  and,  when  the  struggle  ended,  his  pros 
perity  had  fled,  and  he  was  an  outcast  and  an  exile. 


C    I 


APPENDIX   A. 

A    DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE    BY    THE 
LOYALISTS. 

When  in  the  course  of  human  events  it  becomes  nec 
essary  for  men,  in  order  to  preserve  their  lives,  liberties 
and  properties,  and  to  secure  to  themselves,  and  to  their 
posterity,  that  peace,  liberty  and  safety,  to  which  by 
the  laws  of  nature  and  of  nature's  God  they  are  entitled, 
to  throw  off  and.  renounce  all  allegiance  to  a  govern 
ment,  which  under  the  insidious  pretences  of  securing 
those  inestimable  blessings  to  them,  has  wholly  deprived 
them  of  any  security  of  either  life,  liberty,  property, 
peace,  or  safety ;  a  decent  respect  to  the  opinions  of 
mankind,  requires  that  they  should  declare,  the  injuries 
and  oppressions,  the  arbitrary  and  dangerous  proceed 
ings,  which  impel  them  to  transfer  their  allegiance  from 
such  their  oppressors,  to  those  who  have  offered  to  become 
their  protectors. 

We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self  evident,  that  all  men 
are  created  equal ;  that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Cre 
ator  with  certain  rights,  that  among  those,  are  life,  lib 
erty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness ;  that  to  secure  those 
rights,  governments  are  instituted ;  that  whenever  any 
form  of  government  becomes  destructive  to  these  ends, 
it  is  the  right  of  the  people  to  alter  or  to  abolish  it,  or 
to  renounce  all  allegiance  to  it,  and  to  put  themselves 

309 


3J0  THE  LOYALISTS. 

under  such  other  government,  as  to  them  shall  appear 
best  calculated  and  most  likely  to  effect  their  safety  and 
happiness ;  it  is  not  indeed  prudent  to  change  for  light 
and  transient  causes,  and  experience  hath  ever  shewn, 
that  men  are  disposed  to  suffer  much  before  they  can 
bring  themselves  to  make  a  change  of  government ;  but 
when  a  long  train  of  the  most  licentious  and  despotic 
abuses,  pursuing  invariably  the  same  objects,  evinces  a 
design  to  reduce  them  under  anarchy,  and  the  distrac 
tions  of  democracy,  and  finally  to  force  them  to  submit 
to  absolute  despotism,  it  is  their  right,  it  becomes  their 
duty,  to  disclaim  and  renounce  all  allegiance  to  such 
government,  and  to  provide  new  guards  for  their  future 
security. 

Such  have  been  our  patient  sufferings,  and  such  is 
now  the  necessity  which  constrains  us  to  renounce  all 
allegiance  to  Congress,  or  to  the  governments  lately 
established  by  their  direction. 

The  history  of  Congress,  is  a  history  of  continued 
weakness,  inconsistency,  violation  of  the  most  sacred 
obligations  of  all  public  faith  and  honour,  and  of  usur 
pations,  all  having  in  direct  object  the  producing  of 
anarchy,  civil  feuds,  and  violent  injustice,  which  have 
rendered  us  miserable,  and  must  soon  establish  tyranny 
over  us,  and  our  country. 

To  prove  this  let  facts  be  submitted  to  the  candid 
world. 

They  have  recommended  and  caused  laws  to  be  passed, 
the  most  destructive  of  the  public  good,  and  ruinous  to 
individuals. 

Availing  themselves  of  our  zeal  and  unanimity  to 
oppose  the  claims  of  the  British  Parliament,  and  of  our 
unsuspecting  confidence  in  their  solemn  professions  and 


APPENDIX  A.  311 

declarations,  they  have  forbidden  us  to  listen  to,  or  to 
accept  any  terms  of  peace,  until  their  assent  should  be 
obtained. 

They  have  refused  to  accept  of,  or  even  to  receive 
proposals  and  terms  of  accommodation  and  peace, 
though  they  know  the  terms  offered  exceeded  what  the 
Colonies  in  America  had  unanimously  declared  would 
be  satisfactory,  unless  the  Crown  would  relinquish  a 
right  inestimable  to  it  and  to  the  whole  empire,  and 
formidable  to  Congress  only. 

They  have  excited  and  directed  the  people  to  alter  or 
annull  their  ancient  constitutions,  under  which,  they 
and  their  ancestors,  had  been  happy  for  many  ages,  for 
the  sole  purpose  of  promoting  their  measures. 

They  have  by  mobs  and  riots  awed  Representative 
Houses,  repeatedly  into  a  compliance  with  their  resolu 
tions,  though  destructive  of  the  peace,  liberty,  and 
safety  of  the  people. 

They  have  by  their  misconduct,  reduced  us  to  all  the 
dangers  and  distress  of  actual  invasion  from  without, 
and  to  all  the  horrors  of  a  cruel  war  within. 

They  have  not  only  prevented  the  increase  of  the 
population  of  these  states,  but  by  fines,  imprisoning,  and 
banishments,  with  the  losses  by  war,  they  have  caused  a 
rapid  depopulation. 

They  have  corrupted  all  the  sources  of  justice  and 
equity  by  their  Tender  Law,  by  which  they  destroyed 
the  legal  force  of  all  civil  contracts,  wronged  the  honest 
creditor,  and  deserving  salary  man  of  his  just  dues, 
stripped  the  helpless  orphan  of  his  patrimony,  and  the 
disconsolate  widow  of  her  dower. 

They  have  erected  a  multitude  of  new  offices,  and 
have  filled  them  with  men  from  their  own  body,  or  with 


312  THE   LOYALISTS, 

their  creatures  and  dependants,  to  eat  out  the  substance 
of  the  people  ;  they  have  made  their  officers  dependant 
on  their  will  for  the  tenure  of  their  offices,  and  the  pay 
ment  of  their  salaries. 

They  have  raised  a  standing  army  and  sent  it  into  the 
field,  without  any  act  of  the  legislature,  and  have  actu 
ally  rendered  it  independent  of  the  civil  power,  by  mak 
ing  it  solely  dependant  on  them. 

They  have  combined  with  France,  the  natural  and 
hereditary  enemy  of  our  civil  constitution,  and  religious 
faith,  to  render  us  dependant  on  and  subservient  to  the 
views,  of  that  foreign,  ambitious,  and  despotic  mon 
archy. 

They  have  suffered  their  troops  to  live  repeatedly  on 
free  quarters  on  the  inhabitants,  and  to  strip  them  by 
force  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  have  protected  them 
from  either  trial  or  punishment  under  the  plea  of  neces 
sity,  which  necessity  if  real,  was  caused  by  their  treach 
erous  views,  or  unpardonable  negligence. 

They  have  ruined  our  trade,  and  destroyed  our  credit 
with  all  parts  of  the  world. 

They  have  forced  us  to  receive  their  paper,  for 
goods,  merchandise,  and  for  money  due  to  us,  equal  to 
silver  and  gold,  and  then  by  a  breach  of  public  faith  in 
not  redeeming  the  same,  and  by  the  most  infamous 
bankruptcy,  have  left  it  on  our  hands,  to  the  total  ruin 
of  multitudes,  and  to  the  injury  of  all. 

They  have  driven  many  of  our  people  beyond  sea, 
into  exile,  and  have  confiscated  their  estates,  and  the 
estates  of  others  who  were  beyond  sea  before  the  war, 
or  the  existence  of  Congress,  on  pretence  of  offences, 
and  under  the  sanction  of  a  mock  trial,  to  which  the 
person  condemned  was  neither  cited  or  present. 


APPENDIX  A.  313 

They  have  abolished  the  true  system  of  the  English 
constitution  and  laws,  in  thirteen  of  the  American  Prov 
inces,  and  established  therein  a  weak  and  factious  de 
mocracy,  and  have  attempted  to  use  them  as  introduc 
ing  the  same  misrule  and  disorder  into  all  the  Colonies 
on  the  continent. 

They  have  recommended  the  annihilating  of  our 
charters,  abolishing  many  of  our  most  valuable  laws, 
and  the  altering  fundamentally  the  form  of  our  govern 
ment. 

They  have  destroyed  all  good  order  and  government, 
by  plunging  us  into  the  factions  of  democracy,  and  the 
ravages  of  civil  war. 

They  have  left  our  seas  unprotected,  suffered  our 
coasts  to  be  ravaged,  our  towns  to  be  burnt,  some  of 
them  by  their  own  troops,  and  the  lives  of  our  people 
to  be  destroyed. 

They  have  without  the  consent  or  knowledge  of  the 
legislatures,  invited  over  an  army  of  foreign  mercenaries 
to  support  them  and  their  faction,  and  to  prevent  the 
dreadful  scenes  of  death  and  desolation  from  being 
closed  by  an  honourable  peace  and  accommodation 
with  our  ancient  friend  and  parent. 

They  have  fined,  imprisoned,  banished,  and  put  to 
death  some  of  our  fellow  citizens,  for  no  other  cause 
but  their  attachment  to  the  English  laws  and  constitution. 

They  have  countenanced  domestic  tumults  and  dis 
orders  in  our  capital  cities,  and  have  suffered  the  murder 
of  a  number  of  our  fellow  citizens  perpetrated  under 
their  eyes  in  Philadelphia,  to  pass  unnoticed. 

They  first  attempted  to  gain  the  savage  and  merciless 
Indians  to  their  side,  but  failing  in  making  them  the 
presents  promised  and  expected,  have  occasioned  an 


3H  THE  LOYALISTS. 

undistinguished  destruction  to  ages,  sexes,  and  conditions 
on  our  frontiers. 

They  have  involved  us  in  an  immense  debt,  foreign 
as  well  as  internal,  and  did  put  the  best  port  and  island 
on  our  continent,  into  the  hands  of  the  foreigners,  who 
are  their  creditors. 

They  have  wantonly  violated  our  public  faith  and 
honor,  and  destroyed  all  grounds  for  private  confidence, 
or  the  security  of  private  property,  have  not  blushed  to 
act  in  direct  contradiction  to  their  most  solemn  declara 
tion,  and  to  render  the  people  under  their  government, 
a  reproach  and  a  bye  word  among  the  nations. 

In  every  stage  of  these  proceedings,  they  have  not 
been  wanting  to  throw  out  before  us,  specious  excuses 
for  their  conduct,  as  being  the  result  of  necessity  and 
tending  to  the  public  good. — In  every  stage  since  their 
public  conduct,  began  to  contradict  their  public  declar 
ations,  our  minds  have  been  overwhelmed  with  appre 
hensions  ;  and  as  our  sufferings  have  increased,  our  tears 
have  flowed  in  secret.  It  has  been  dangerous  and  even 
criminal  to  lament  our  situation  in  public.  The  unsus 
pecting  confidence  which  we  with  our  fellow  citizens 
reposed  in  the  Congress  of  1774,  the  unanimous  ap 
plause,  with  which  their  patriotism  and  firmness  were 
crowned,  for  having  stood  forth,  as  the  champions  of 
our  rights,  founded  on  the  English  constitution  ;  at  the 
same  time  that  it  gave  to  Congress  the  unanimous  sup 
port  of  the  whole  continent,  inspired  their  successors 
with  very  different  ideas,  and  emboldened  them  by 
degrees  to  pursue  measures,  directly  the  reverse  of  those 
before  adopted,  and  were  recommended,  as  the  only  just, 
constitutional  and  safe. — Congress  in  1774,  reprobated 
every  idea  of  a  separation  from  Great-Britain,  and  de- 


APPENDIX  A.  315 

clared  that  they  looked  on  such  an  event  as  the  great 
est  of  evils. — They  declared  that  a  repeal  of  certain 
acts,  complained  of,  would  restore  our  ancient  peace,  and 
harmony. — That  they  asked  but  for  peace,  liberty  and 
safety.  —  That  they  wished  not  for  a  diminution  of  the 
royal  prerogative,  nor  did  they  solicit  the  grant  of  any  new 
right.  And  they  pledged  themselves  in  the  presence  of 
Almighty  God,  that  they  will  ever  carefully  and  zeal 
ously  endeavour  to  support  and  maintain  the  royal  author 
ity  of  Great-Britain  over  us,  and  our  connection  with 
Great-Britain — and  our  councils  had  been  influenced  only 
by  the  dread  of  impending  destruction. 

The  acts  complained  of  have  been  repealed,  yet  how 
have  Congress  given  the  lie,  to  these  their  most  solemn 
professions!  In  1774,  they  declared  themselves  con 
cerned  for  the  honour  of  Almighty  God,  whose  pure  and 
holy  religion,  our  enemies  were  undermining — They 
pointed  out  those  enemies,  and  the  danger  in  which  our 
holy  religion  was  by  their  complaints  of  the  establish 
ment  of  the  Roman  Catholic  religion  in  Canada ;  they 
say,  "  It  is  a  religion  which  has  deluged  the  Island  of 
Great  Britain  with  blood,  and  dispersed  impiety,  per 
secution,  murder,  and  rebellion  through  every  part  of 
the  world."  We  find  the  present  Congress  not  only 
claiming  a  new  right,  and  hazarding  every  thing  valuable 
in  life,  to  the  present  and  future  generations  in  support 
of  it,  but  we  also  find  them,  leagued  with  the  eldest 
son  of  this  bloody,  impious,  bigoted,  and  persecuting 
church,  to  ruin  the  nation  from  whose  loins  we  sprung, 
and  which  has  ever  been  the  principal  bulwark  in 
Europe,  against  the  encroachments  and  tyranny  of  that 
church,  and  of  the  kingdoms  devoted  to  her  :  we  think 
it  not  too  severe  to  say,  that  we  find  them  as  intoxicated 


THE   LOYALISTS. 

with  ambition  of  Independent  sovereignty,  as  that 
execrable  Roman  Daughter,  who  drove  the  wheels  of 
her  chariot  over  the  mangled  body  of  her  murdered 
father,  in  her  way  to  the  capitol. 

We  find  that  all  their  fears  and  apprehensions  from 
the  Roman  Catholic  religion  in  Canada,  have  vanished, 
or  sunk  to  nothing,  when  put  in  competition  with  their 
political  views,  and  that  they  have  attempted  to  seduce 
the  Canadians  to  their  side,  by  promises  of  still  greater 
religious  establishments  ;  and  to  shew  that  they  were  in 
earnest,  have  countenanced  this  impious  religion  by 
attending  its  ceremonies  and.worship  in  a  body.  — We 
find  them  at  one  time  boasting  of  their  patriotic  and 
religious  ancestors,  who  braved  every  danger  of  unknown 
seas,  and  coasts,  to  preserve  civil  and  religious  freedom, 
and  who  chose  rather  to  become  exiles,  and  suffer  every 
misery  that  must  await  them,  on  a  savage  and  unex 
plored  coast,  than  submit  to  civil,  but  above  all  religious 
innovations  —  at  another  time  we  find  them  destroying 
the  British  Constitution,  the  pride  of  their  ancestors, 
and  encouraging  a  religion  which  they  held  in  abhor 
rence,  as  idolatrous  and  tyrannical.  —  We  find  them 
contending  for  liberty  of  speech,  and  at  the  same  time 
controlling  the  press,  by  means  of  a  mob,  and  persecut 
ing  every  one  who  ventures  to  hint  his  disapprobation 
of  their  proceedings. 

We  find  them  declaring  in  September  1779,  tnat  to 
pay  off  their  paper  money,  at  less  than  its  nominal 
value,  would  be  an  unpardonable  sin,  an  execrable  deed. 
' '  That  a  faithless  bankrupt  Republic  would  be  a  novelty 
in  the  political  world,  and  appear  like  a  common 
prostitute  among  chaste  and  reputable  matrons,"  would 
be  ' «  a  reproach  and  a  bye-word  among  the  nations,  &c. ' ' 


APPENDIX  A.  3X7 

We  find  the  same  Congress  in  March  following,  liqui 
dating  their  paper  debt  at  2^  per  cent,  or  6d.  in  the 
pound. 

We  should  fill  volumes,  were  we  to  recite  at  large 
their  inconsistency,  usurpations,  weaknesses  and  viola 
tions  of  the  most  sacred  obligations  —  We  content  our 
selves  with  the  above  brief  recital  of  facts  known  to  the 
world  and  attested  by  their  own  records. 

We  have  sufficiently  shewn  that  a  government  thus 
marked  and  distinguished  from  every  other,  either 
despotic  or  democratic,  by  the  enormity  of  its  excesses, 
injustice  and  infamy,  is  unfit  to  rule  a  free  people. 

We  therefore,  Natives  and  Citizens  of  America, 
appealing  to  the  impartial  world  to  judge  of  the  justice 
of  our  cause,  but  above  all  to  the  supreme  Judge  of  the 
World  for  the  rectitude  of  our  intentions,  do  renounce 
and  disclaim  all  allegiance,  duty,  or  submission  to  the 
Congress,  or  to  any  government  under  them,  and 
declare  that  the  United  Colonies  or  States,  so  called, 
neither  are,  nor  of  right  ought  to  be  independent  of  the 
crown  of  Great-Britain,  or  unconnected  with  that  em 
pire  ;  but  that  we  do  firmly  believe  and  maintain  ' '  That 
the  Royal  Authority  of  the  Crown  of  Great- Britain  over 
us,  and  our  connection  with  that  kingdom  oyght  to  be 
preserved  and  maintained,  and  that  we  will  zealously 
endeavour  to  support  and  maintain  the  same ;  ' '  and  in 
the  support  of  this  declaration,  with  a  firm  reliance  on 
the  protection  of  Divine  Providence,  we  mutually 
pledge  to  each  other,  and  to  the  crown  and  empire  of 
Great-Britain,  our  lives,  our  fortunes,  and  our  sacred 
honor.1  Dated,  &c. 

1  The  "Declaration"  appeared  in  Rivingtori 's  Royal  Gazette, 
November  17,  1781. 


APPENDIX    B. 


ANALYSIS  OF  THE  TEST  LAWS  PASSED  BY  THE  LEGIS 
LATURES    OF    THE    THIRTEEN    COLONIES    DURING 
THE    REVOLUTIONARY    WAR. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 
(Laws  of  New  Hampshire  in  C.  Tower  Coll.,  pp.  63,  90.) 


Date  of 
Test  Laws. 

Affected  Persons. 

Penalty  of  Refusal. 

Persons  Executing 
the  Laws. 

Nov.  8,  1777. 

Civil  and  Military 
officers,  barristers 
and  attorneys  at 
law. 

Suspended     from 
office. 

Commissioners. 

March      14, 
1778  (an  addi 
tion   to  above 
act).      (Time 
limit     extend 
ed.)  (Affirma 
tion  instead  of 
oath  allowed.) 

Justices. 

MASSACHUSETTS. 
("  Laws  of  Massachusetts,  1775-80,"  pp.  31,  159, 161,  168,  184.) 


1776. 

Every  male  per 
son  above  16. 

Disarmed,  unable 
to  hold  office,  min 
isters     and     school 
masters   lose  salar 
ies  —  also  governors 
of  Harvard  College. 

Committee    of 
Corres  ,  Safety,  Jus 
tice  of  Peace,  Sher 
iff. 

Jan.  (?), 
1778. 

Persons  suspect 
ed  of  being  inimical 
(except  Mandamus 
Councillors  who  ac 
cepted  office,  and 
all  who  since  April 
19,  1775,  have  joined 
the  enemy  or  en 
listed  men  for,  etc.). 

Committed  to  gaol 
(costs  to  be  paid  out 
of  the  estate  of  per 
son).       Within     40 
days  sent  to  British 
territory. 
Death   penalty  if 
return  . 

Justice    of    Peace 
(upon  representation 
made  by  member  of 
Council,  H.  of  R.). 
Civil  or  military  of 
ficer,   selectman,   or 
member  of  any  Com 
mittee  of  Corres.  or 
any  two  substantial 
free-holders. 

318 


APPENDIX 


MASSACHUSETTS  (continued). 


Date  of 
Test  Laws. 

Affected  Persons. 

Penalty  of  Refusal. 

Persons  Executing 
the  Laws. 

Jan.  (?), 
1778. 

Members  of  Gen 
eral  Assembly,  civil 
and  military  offi 
cers,  attorneys  at 
law. 

Not    allowed    to 
practice. 

Two   or  three  of 
the  Council. 

June  (?), 
1778. 

Every  military  of 
ficer  under  the  com 
manding  officer  of 
regiment. 

Commanding  offi 
cer    of  regiment    of 
militia. 

April       (?), 

Every  military  of- 

(Forty  days'  limit; 

1778,  addition  ficer  under  the  com-  |  "as  soon  as  con- 
to  act  of  Jan.,  manding  officer  of  i  veniently  may  be.") 
1778.  |  regiment. 


RHODE  ISLAND. 
("Col.  Recs.,"  Vol.  VII.,  pp.  566,  585,  611.) 


June,  1776. 

All  male  inhabit 
ants  above  16  years, 
who  are  suspected 
of  being  inimical. 

May  be  summoned 
to  give  reason. 
Arms  and  ammu 
nition  seized  (state 
to  pay  for  arms  )  . 

Members  of  upper 
and  lower  house  of 
assembly. 

July  18, 
1776. 

Male  person  aged 

21. 

Cannot  petition  to 
set  aside  judgment 
or  stay  execution. 
Suit,  action,   bill, 
or  plaint  dismissed. 
Not  vote  in  town 
meeting. 

Sept.,  1776. 

Cannot  hold  office, 
civil  or  military. 

Inferior  Court 
(may  fine). 

Nov.  21, 
1776. 

No  execution  to  be 
issued  on  any  judg 
ment  of  any  court. 
Executions  al 
ready  issued    to  be 
returned   to  officers 
(see  Vol.  VIII.,  pp. 
39,  187,247,291). 

CONNECTICUT. 
("  Public  Recs.  of  Conn.,"  Vol.  I.,  p.  4.) 


Oct.  10, 
1776. 

Members    of    the 
general     assembly, 
civil    and    military 
officers,  freemen. 

Deprived      of 
office. 
Disfranchised. 

Magistrate  or  jus 
tice  of  peace. 
Inrolled  by  town 
clerk. 

320 


THE   LOYALISTS. 


CONNECTICUT  (continued). 


Date  of 
Test  Laws. 

Affected  Persons. 

Penalty  of  Refusal. 

Persons  Executing 
the  Laws. 

May  8  (?), 
1777. 

All   persons  over 
21  years. 
Freemen. 

Shall  hold  no 
office. 
Disfranchised. 

Assistant  or  jus 
tice  of  peace  (oath 
taken  in  open  free 
man's  meeting). 

Oct.  ii, 

1777. 

All  persons  who 
wish  to  hold  offices 
or  vote,  be  an  ex 
ecutor  or  guardian. 

May  12, 
1777. 

Those  charged 
with  treason  or  mis- 
prision  of  treason. 

Subject  to  prose 
cution  for  previous 
acts  of  disloyalty  to 
the  state. 

Justice  of  the 
peace. 

May  1  8, 

1779. 

(See  "  Public  Re 
cords  of  Conn.," 
Vol.  II.,  p.  279.) 

NEW  YORK. 
("  Laws  of  New  York,"  Vol.  I.,  p.  252.) 


Dec.  27, 
1776  (res.  of  a 
convention). 

Inhabit  ants  of 
Westchester  county. 

Treated  as  open 
enemies. 

Militia  and  com- 
mitteemen. 

March  13, 
1780  (an  act 
to  relieve  cer 
tain  persons  of 
Westchester). 

June  30, 
1778. 

All  persons  of 
neutral  and  equivo 
cal  characters  who 
have  influence  suffi 
cient  to  do  mischief. 

Removed  to  any 
place  within  the  en 
emy's  lines.  Names 
recorded.  Those 
failing  to  appear  on 
summons  guilty  of 
misprision  of  trea 
son.  Lands  double 
taxed. 

Co  m  m  i  s  s  i  o  ners 
for  enquiring  into, 
detecting  and  de 
feating  all  conspira 
cies  against  the  lib 
erties  of  United 
btates. 

March  26, 
1781. 

All  public  officers 
and  electors. 

Disfranchisement 
or  incapacity  to 
hold  office. 

Presiding  officer 
at  elections. 

April  ii, 
1782. 

Suitors  in  the 
courts  of  the  State. 

Incapacity  to  sue. 

Justices  of  the 
peace,  etc. 

APPENDIX  B. 


32I 


NEW  JERSEY. 
('•Acts  of  New  Jersey  Territory,"  1784,  pp.  i,  18;  i776-'8s>  P-  27-) 

Date  of       |    Affected  Persons.       Penalty  of  Refusal.     Persons  Executinj 
Test  Laws.    ] 


Sept.  ig, 
1776. 

June  5,  1777 
(an  oath  giv 
ing  chance  for 
r  e  c  o  n  c  i  1  i  a- 


All  civil  and  mili 
tary  officers. 

Persons  "who 
have  been  seduced 
from  their  alle 
giance,"  but  "since 


Penalty  ol  Refusal. 

the  Laws. 

Forfeit  personal 
estate.  Noi  allow 
ed  to  transfer  real 
estate. 

Justice  of  Su 
preme  Court  (who 
gives  a  certificate  — 
for  2  shillings). 

tion). 

become  sensible  ot 
their  error." 

Oct.  6,  1777. 

Counsellors,  proc 
tors,  solicitors,  at 
torneys,  jurymen, 
public  teachers  and 
instructors. 

£s-£2°  fine- 

Any      persons 
(may    sue),    judges 
and  justices. 

Oct.  i,  1778 
(a  provision 
for  those  who 
have  scruples 
against  the 
oath). 

PENNSYLVANIA. 
("  Laws  of  Pennsylvania,"  1777-81,  Vol.  X.) 


June  13, 

Male,    white    in 
habitants  above  18 

Unable  to  hold 
office,  serve  on  jury, 

Justices  (paid  i  s. 
for    each    certificate 

years. 
Travelers  (except 

sue  for  debts,  elect 
or  be  elected,  buy, 

issued). 

Delegates  for  Con-  1  sell  or  transfer  lands 

gress,   prisoners    of 
war,     officers,    sol- 

or  tenements. 
Disarmed. 

Lieutenants  of  city 

diers,merchants  and 

or  county. 

mariners). 

October  12, 
1777  (supple 
ments  above). 

Every  inhabitant 
above  16  years  who 
travels  out  of  Phila 

Commi  1  1  e  d  to 
gaol,  without  bail. 

Justices. 

delphia  or  the  coun 

ty  in  which  he  re 

sides. 

Persons  suspected 
j  of  being  unfriendly. 

Jailed  (costs  lev 
ied  on  his  goods). 

22 


322 


THE  LOYALISTS. 


PENNSYLVANIA  {continued}. 


Date  of 
Test  Laws. 

Persons  Affected. 

Penalty  of  Refusal. 

Persons  Executing 
the  Laws. 

April  1,1778. 

All  persons  over 
18  (provision  made 
for  prisoners  of  war, 
unable  to  take  the 
oath).  Delegates 
in  Congress  (had 

Same   as  in   Act 
of   June    13,    1777; 
disabled  to  sue,  etc., 
or    be  guardian   or 
administrator  of  any 
estate,    cannot     re 

Justices. 
Inspectors  of  elec 
tion    (fined    if    they 
allow   non-jurors   to 
vote). 

been  exempt)  now 
included. 

ceive  legacy  or  deed 
of  gift  or  make  will, 

and    shall     pay 
double    tax.       (All 

trustees,     provosts, 

rectors,    professors, 

masters,  tutors,  etc., 

merchants,  traders, 

sergeants  -  at  -  law, 

councillors-at  -  law, 

barristers,      advo 

cates,     attorneys, 

solicitors,   proctors, 

clerks     or     notary, 

apothecary  or  drug 

gist,    physician     or 

surgeon)    shall     be 

incapacitated      and 

upon      prosecution 

may  be  fined  .£500 

(half  to  go   to  the 

estate    and   half  to 

the    prosecutor), 
(persons  summoned 

and    refusing)    com 

mitted  to  jail   for  3 

months  or  pay  £10. 

Disarmed  ;     if     by 

force,    pay    double 
the     value     of    the 

arms. 

Dec.  5,  1  778 
(supple  m  en  t 

All  present  and 
future  officers  of 

Not    elect   or    be 
elected  or  serve  on 

Commiss  i  o  n  e  r  s, 
(feed  7s.  6d.). 

oath). 


sons  who  have  ne 
glected  previous 
oath. 


juries  (other  penal 
ties  removed)  ex 
cept  non-jurors  pay 
ing  double  tax. 


(See  also  modifications  of  the  law  on  April  2,  1779,  and  October  i,  1779.    The 
latter  returns  to  the  more  rigorous  law.) 


APPENDIX  B. 


323 


DELAWARE. 
(Session  Laws  of  Del.,  in  N.  Y.  Bar  Assoc.  Library.) 


Date  of 
Test  Laws. 

Persons  Affected. 

Penalty  of  Refusal. 

Persons  Executing 
the  Laws. 

May  18, 

1778. 

Every  male  white 
person  21  years  old. 
(Officers  and  sol 
diers  in  pay  of  U.  S. 
excepted.) 

Unable  to  hold 
office,  civil  or  mili- 

Disfranchised. 
Unable  to  serve  on 
jury. 

The    "Justice    in 

the  hundred." 
(is.  6d.  paid  for  a 
Certif.) 

June  26, 
1778. 

Inhabitants  of  the 
state  that  have 
levied  war  against 
it  (except  some  46 
proscribed  per 
sons). 

Estates  confiscat 
ed.  (Those  who 
took  oath  were  de 
nied  franchise  and 
right  to  hold  office.) 
(Incapacity  re 
in  oved  Jan.  27, 
1790.) 

Justice  of  Supreme 
Court    or  Justice  of 
Peace. 

MARYLAND. 
(Laws  of  Md.,  1775-80.) 


Before  Dec. 
3,  i/77- 

(  Additional 
clauses  not 
concerning 
the  oath.) 

Every    free    male 
above    18    years   of 
age  (except  Quak 
ers,  Mennonites    or 
Dunkers,  who  only 
declare).    (Soldiers 
and  officers  except 
ed.  )      Refugees    to 
the    state.     (Im 
prisoned.) 

Pay  treble  tax  in 
all  public  and 
county  assessments 
during  life.  (Tax 
to  follow  the  prop 
erty.)  Cannot  sue. 
Fined,  if  acting  as  a 
merchant  (without 
oath).  Not  to  prac 
tice  law,  physics  or 
surgery  or  apothe 
cary,  nor  preach  or 
teach  or  hold  office 
or  vote. 

County  or  city 
magistrate.  Con 
stable  (to  make  out 
a  list  of  free  males 
in  his  Hundred). 

Between 
Mar.    17    and 
Apr.  22,  1778. 
(Supple 
ments  above.) 

County  Clerk  (to 
make  list  annually). 

Between 
July  22  and 
Aug.  15,  1779- 

(Treble  tax  sus 
pended  until  Nov. 

10.) 

Nov.  8, 

1779. 

(Treble  tax  sus 
pended  to  Dec.  30.) 

June  12, 
1780. 

Treble  tax  to  be 
collected  on  absen 
tees. 

1781 

Persons  returning 
from  abroad,  take 
oath,  not  pay  tax. 

324 


THE  LOYALISTS. 


MARYLAND  (continued). 


Date  of 
Test  Laws. 

Persons  Affected. 

Penalty  of  Refusal. 

Persons  Executing 
the  Laws. 

Between 
Nov.  5.  1781, 
and    Jan.    22, 
1782. 

(Treble  tax  sus 
pended  and  dis 
ability  to  sue  for 
debts,  practice 
physic,  or  carry  on 
m  e  i  c  h  a  ndise  re 
moved). 

VIRGINIA. 
(Laws  of  Virginia,  "Hennings,"  IX.,  281;  X.,  22.) 


May,  1777. 

All  free-born 
males  above  age  ol 
16  (except  imported 
servants).    Persons 
coming  from  any  of 
the  other  States. 

Disarmed      (but 
must    attend    mus 
ter).     Incapable  of 
holding  office,  serv 
ing  on  jury,  suing 
for     debts,     buying 
lands.     Travelers 
committed  to  jail. 

Justice  of  the 
peace,  county 
clerks  (to  receive 
register  of  signers), 
county  courts  (to 
appoint  members  to 
receive  oath), 
county  lieutenant 
(to  disarm). 

May,  1783 
(receals  the 
part  subject 
ing  Quakers 
and  Menno- 
nites  to  penal 
ties). 

May,  1779. 

Every  person  by 
law  required  to  give 
assurance  of  fidelity  . 
Governor  and  Privy 
Council. 

Court  of  record. 

May  1779 
(providing  for 
those  who 
have  scruples 
against  oaths;. 

Oct.,  1780. 

Persons     in     the 
counties  of  Henry, 
Bedford,  Pittsyl- 
vania,    Botetourt, 
Montgomery    and 
Washington     who 
nave  taken  oath  to 
Great  Britain  since 
1776  and  who  have 
not  added  any  overt 
act  criminal  bylaw. 

Prosecuted  if 
taken  (pardoned   if 
they  take  the  oath). 

Justice. 

APPENDIX  B. 


NORTH  CAROLINA. 

("Laws  of  North  Carolina,"  1750-90,  p.  281;  "Records  of  North  Carolina," 
Vol.  XL,  p.  363.) 


Date  of 
Test  Laws. 

Persons  Affected. 

Penalty  of  Refusal. 

Persons  Executing 
the  Laws. 

No  v  .    22  , 
1776    (an    op 
portunity     t  0 
recant). 

All  who  by  tak 
ing  arms  against 
United  States,  or 
adhering  to,  com 
forting  or  abetting 
the  enemy.  Persons 
using  disrespectful 
words  about  United 
States  or  of  this 
State.  Does  not 
extend  to  persons 
now  in  open  enmity. 

Incapable  of 
bringing  any  suit  in 
any  court.  Cannot 
be  sued,  plead  or 
make  defence,  pros- 
e  c  u  t  e  indictment, 
purchase  or  transfer 
lands,  tenements, 
etc  Same  to  be 
forfeited  to  State. 

Court,   judge    or 
justice. 

Jan.,  1777. 

Members  of 
Council  of  State. 

SOUTH  CAROLINA. 
("Statutes  at  Large  of  South  Carolina,"  1838,  Vol.  IV.,  pp.  338,  450,  468.) 


April  6, 
1776  (oath  of 
office). 

All  persons  not 
having  c  o  m  m  i  s  - 
sions,  who,  by  the 
laws  of  Great  Brit 
ain,  have  hitherto 
taken  oaths  of  office. 
State  officers,  Presi 
dent,  Privy  Coun 
cillors. 

Loss  of  office. 

March  28, 
1778  (repeals 
old  law). 

Com  m  a  n  d  er-in- 
chief  and  members 
of  Privy  Council. 

Oct.  17, 
1778. 

Members  of  Sen 
ate  and  House  of 
Representatives. 

March  28, 
1778. 

Every  free  male 
above  certain  age. 

Justice  of  peace. 

Oct.  9,  1778 
(enlarges  the 
time  for  tak 
ing  oath  of 
March  28, 
1778). 

Must  sell  or  dis 
pose  of  estate  and 
depart.  Death  if 
they  refuse  to  leave 
or  return. 

Justice  of  peace. 
Captain  of  company 
and  colonel  of  each 
regiment  of  militia 
(a  heavy  fine  is  im 
posed  for  neglect  of 
this  duty).  Courts 
of  law. 

Feb.  17, 
i  779  (exten 
sion  of  time). 

320 


THE   LOYALISTS. 


GEORGIA. 
("  Digest  of  Laws  of  Georgia,"  1800,  p.  237.) 


Date  of 
Test  Laws. 

Persons  Affected. 

Penalty  of  Refusal. 

Persons  Executing, 
the  Laws. 

Aug.  20, 
1781. 

Those  who   took 
oath  to  the  British, 
but    have    since 
shown     loyalty     to 

Regarded  as 
guilty  of  "  certain 
high  crimes  and 
misd  emeanors." 
(Banished,  if  they 
later  take  sides  with 
the  British.) 

Army  officers. 

APPENDIX    C. 

A     CLASSIFICATION     OF     THE      PRINCIPAL     LAWS 
DIRECTED    AGAINST    THE    LOYALISTS    DURING 
THE    AMERICAN    REVOLUTION,    EXCEPT 
ING    THE    TEST    LAWS    WHICH 
ARE    IN    APPENDIX    B. 

Laws  Against  Freedom  of  Speech  and  Action.  J 

New  Hampshire. 
January  77,  7777. 

An  act  for  preventing  and  punishing  such  offences  against  the 
State  as  do  not  amount  to  treason  or  misprision  of  treason. 

Massachusetts. 
August  (?),  1777. 

An  act  for  preventing  or  punishing  crimes  that  may  be  com 
mitted  against  the  public  safety  below  the  degree  of  treason  and 
misprision  of  treason. 

Rhode  Island. 

August  (third  Monday  in},  J775- 

An  act  to  punish  persons,  who  shall  pilot  any  armed  vessels  in 
or  out  of  any  of  the  harbors  ...  in  this  colony,  excepting 
vessels  belonging  to  some  one  of  the  British  colonies  in  Amer 
ica.  .  .  . 

October-November,  1775. 

An  act  for  the  punishment  of  persons  who  shall  be  found  guilty 
of  holding  a  traitorous  correspondence  with  the  ministry  of 
Great  Britain  or  any  of  their  officers  or  agents,  or  of  supplying 
the  ministerial  army  or  navy  that  now  is,  or  may  be,  employed 
in  America  against  the  United  Colonies,  with  provisions,  can 
non,  arms,  ammunition,  warlike  or  naval  stores,  or  of  acting  as 
pilots  on  board  any  of  their  ships  and  vessels. 
327 


3 28  THE  LOYALISTS. 

July,  1776. 

An  act  to  punish  persons  who  shall  acknowledge  the  King  of 

Great  Britain  to  be  their  sovereign. 
July,  1776. 

An  act  to  prevent  the  depreciation  of  the  Continental  Currency, 

etc. 
March,  1781. 

An  act  more  effectually  to  prevent  illicit  trade,  commerce,  and 

correspondence  with  the  enemies  of  this  and  the  other  United 

States  of  America. 

Connecticut. 

December  14,  1775. 

An  act  for  restraining  and  punishing  persons  who  are  inimical 

to  the  liberties  of  this  and  the  rest  of  the  United  Colonies.   .   .   . 
July  18,  1776. 

Resolve  for  stopping  suspected  persons,  etc. 
February  12  (?},  1778. 

An  act  more  effectively  to  prevent  illicit  trade. 

New  York. 

April  /j,  1782. 

An  act  more  effectually  to  prevent  illicit  trade  with  the  enemy. 
fitly  22,  1782. 

( Same  as  above. ) 
March  21,  1783. 

(An  act  to  limit  above  acts.) 

New  Jersey. 

February  n,  1777. 

An  act  for  more  effectually  preventing  disaffected  and  evil 
minded  persons  destroying  the  credit  and  circulation  of  the 
Continental  bills  of  credit.  .  .  . 

February  73,  1777. 

An  act  to  prevent  the  counterfeiting  or  forging  the  tickets  of  the 
United  States  lottery. 

Octobers,  1778. 

An  act  to  prevent  the  subjects  of  this  State  from  going  into,  or 
coming  out  of,  the  enemy's  lines  without  permissions  or  pass 
ports.  .  .  . 


APPENDIX  C.  329 

December  n,  1778. 

(Amendment  of  above.) 

December  25,  /779- 

(Another  amendment. ) 

June  10,  7779. 

An  act  to  prevent  persons  from  passing  through  this  State  with 
out  proper  passports. 

June  /j,  1780. 

An  act  more  effectually  to  prevent  the  passing  of  counterfeit 
bills  of  credit. 

June  77,  1780. 

An  act  more  effectually  to  prevent  desertion  and  for  the  punish 
ment  of  persons  harboring  prisoners  of  war  or  purchasing  the 
clothing  and  accoutrements  of  the  soldiers  of  the  army  and  for 
the  repeal  of  a  certain  act  therein  mentioned. 

December  22,  1780. 

An  act  more  effectually  to  prevent  the  inhabitants  of  this  state 
from  trading  with  the  enemy,  or  going  within  their  lines,  and 
for  other  purposes  therein  mentioned. 

June  24,  1782. 

An  act  for  preventing  illicit  trade  and  intercourse  between  the 
subjects  of  this  State  and  the  enemy. 

December  24,  1782. 
(Amends  above.) 

Delaware. 

May  20,  1778. 

To  prevent  the  inhabitants  of  this  State  from  dealing  and  fur 
nishing  the  enemy  thereof  with  supplies.  .  .  . 

Virginia. 

May,  1780. 

An  act  affixing  penalties  to  certain  crimes  injurious  to  the 
independence  of  America,  but  less  than  treason,  and  repealing 
the  act  for  the  punishment  of  certain  offences. 

South  Carolina. 
April  ii,  1776. 

An  act  to  prevent  sedition  and  punish  insurgents  and  disturbers 
of  the  public  peace.  (Estates  of  offenders  confiscated. ) 


33°  THE  LOYALISTS. 


Laws  DisfraflffifclBftj'hA  Loyalists  or  Removing  Them 
Trom  Office.1 

New  York. 

March  27,  1778. 

An  act  to  regulate  elections  within  this  State. 

October  g,  1779. 

An  act  making  it  necessary  for  the  attorneys,  solicitors  and 
counsellors-at-law,  who  have  been  licensed  to  plead  or  practice 
in  any  of  the  courts  of  law  or  equity  within  the  late  colony  of 
New  York  to  produce  certificates  of  their  attachment  to  the 
liberties  and  independence  of  America. 

May  12,  1784. 

An  act  to  preserve  the  freedom  and  independence  of  this  State 
and  for  other  purposes. 

Rhode  Island. 

October- November,  1773. 

An  act  declaring  the  office  of  governor  of  this  colony  vacant. 

Maryland. 

July  3,  1776. 

(Resolutions  of  provincial  convention.  See  Laws  of  Mary 
land,  1765-84,  Chapter  XXVIII.) 

South  Carolina. 

February  6,  1782. 

An  act  for  settling  the  qualifications  of  the  electors  and  elected 
in  the  next  general  assembly. 

North  Carolina. 

November,  1784. 

An  act  to  describe  and  ascertain  such  persons  who  owed  allegi 
ance  to  this  State  and  to  impose  certain  disqualifications.   .   .   . 
1 1   have  included  here  only  such  laws  as  were  directly  intended 
to  disfranchise  or  remove.     See  in  Appendix  B  where  the  penalties 
for  not  meeting  the  requirements  of  the  laws  are  of  this  nature. 
Disfranchisement  and  removal  were  common  penalties  in  the  Revo 
lutionary  laws. 


APPENDIX  C.  331 

Laws  Suppressing,  Quarantining,  Banishing  and  Exil 
ing  the  Loyalists. 

New  Hampshire. 

June  19,  7777. 

An  act  for  taking  up,  imprisoning,  or  otherwise  restraining  per 
sons  dangerous  to  this  State. 

November  79,  /77<?. 

An  act  to  prevent  the  return  to  the  State  of  certain  persons 
therein  named,  and  of  others  who  have  left  or  shall  leave  this 
State  or  either  of  the  United  States  of  America  and  have  joined 
or  shall  join  the  enemies  thereof. 

Massachusetts. 
May  10  (?},  7777. 

An  act  for  securing  this,  and  the  other  United  States,  against 

the  dangers,  to  which  they  are  exposed  by  the  internal  enemies 

thereof 
May  27-September  16,  1778. 

Act  to  prevent  the  return  of  certain  persons  therein  named  and 

others  who  have  left  this  State  or  either  of  the  United  States 

and  joined  the  enemies  thereof. 

(See  also  Laws  of  Massachusetts  1775-80,  pp.  103,  186,  187, 

210,  220,  231.) 

Rhode  Island. 

July,  1780. 

An  act  to  prevent  certain  persons  therein  named  .  .  .  from 
being  admitted  within  this  State. 

Connecticut. 

October  10  (/>),  7776. 

An  act  for  apprehending  and  securing  such  inimical  persons  as 
shall  be  deemed  and  adjudged  dangerous  to  the  State. 
(Amended  May  8,  1777.) 

New  York. 

February  5,  777^. 

An  act  appointing  commissioners  for  detecting  and  defeating 

conspiracies  and  declaring  their  powers. 

(Amended  April  3,  1778,  October  29,  1778,  June  14,  1780.) 


33  3  THE   LOYALISTS. 

April  i,  1778. 

An  act  to  enable  the  persons  administering  the  government  of 

this  State  ...   to  remove  certain  disaffected  and  dangerous 

persons  and  families. 
March  22,  1781. 

An  act  to  accommodate  the  inhabitants  of  the  frontiers  with 

habitations.   .   .   . 
March  20,  1*183. 

An  act  to  protect  the  persons  and  property  of  the  inhabitants 

of  the  county  of  Westchester  from  injury  and  abuse. 

New  Jersey. 

March  jj,  7777. 

An  act  for  investing  the  governor  and  a  council  consisting  of  12 

with  certain  powers  therein  mentioned  for  a  limited  time. 
Aprils  1778. 

An  act  constituting  a  council  of  safety. 
June  12,  1779. 

An    act    for    the    removal  of   criminals   for   their  more  safe 

custody.   .   .   . 

Delaware. 

March  20,  1778. 

A  resolve  of  the  Council  to  disarm  the  disaffected  of  Sussex 
County. 

Virginia. 

October,  1777. 

An  act  for  indemnifying  the  governor  and  council  and  others  for 

removing  and  confining  suspected  persons  during  the  late  pub 
lic  danger. 

(See  October,  1779.     "  Hennings,"  X.,  195.) 
October,  1777. 

An  act  for  better   securing  the  commonwealth,    and  for  the 

further  protection  and  defense  thereof. 
May,  1780. 

An  act  for  giving  further  powers  to  the  governor  and  council 

and  for  other  purposes. 
October,  1783. 

An  act  prohibiting  the   migrations  of  certain  persons  to  this 

commonwealth.  .  .  . 


APPENDIX  C.  333 

North  Carolina. 

May  7j,  7776. 

Resolve  of  Provincial  Congress  to  disarm  and  imprison  all  who 
aid  Great  Britain. 

South  Carolina. 

October  77,  1778. 

An  ordinance  to  empower  the  President  or  Commander-in- 
Chief  .  .  .  with  the  advice  of  the  privy  council  to  take  up  and 
confine  all  persons  whose  going  at  large  may  endanger  the 
safety  of  this  State. 

August  31,  7779. 

(Same  as  above.) 

Georgia. 

September  16,  7777. 

An  act  for  the  expulsion  of  the  internal  enemies  of  this  State. 

March  7,  777^. 

An  act  to  prevent  the  dangerous  consequences  that  may  arise 
from  the  practices  of  disaffected  .  .  .  persons  within  this  State. 

August  21,  ij8i. 

An  act  for  prevention  of  internal  conspiracies  and  for  the  em 
powering  certain  committees  therein  named,  to  examine  into 
the  conduct  of  certain  suspicious  persons. 

January  9,  1782. 

An  act  to  repeal  an  act  entitled  "  An  act  to  draw  a  line  .  .  . 
between  the  good  citizens  of  this  State  and  the  enemies  thereof ; 
and  to  prevent  plundering  and  detect  spies  within  the  same." 
(Original  act  January  29,  1780.) 

August^,  1782. 

An  act  for  preventing  improper  or  disaffected  persons  immigrat 
ing  from  other  places,  and  becoming  citizens  of  this  State,  and 
for  other  purposes  therein  mentioned. 

Laws  Providing  for  the  grime  of  Adhering  to  Great 
Britain. 

New  Hampshire. 
January  77,  7777. 

An  act  against  treason  and  misprision  of  treason  and  for  regu 
lating  trials  in  such  cases,  and  for  directing  the  mode  of  exe 
cuting  judgments  against  persons  convicted  of  those  crimes. 


334  THE  LOYALISTS. 

Massachusetts. 

,  7777. 

An  act  against  treason  and  misprision  of  treason.   .  .  . 
(A  general  law  for  treason  in  general.) 

Connecticut. 

May8  (?},  7777. 

An  act  to  prevent  traitorous  conspiracies  against  this  and  the 
United  States  of  America. 

New  York. 

March  30,  1781. 

An  act  more  effectually  to  punish  adherence  to  the  king  of 
Great  Britain,  within  this  State. 

New  Jersey. 

October  4,  7776. 

An  act  to  punish  traitors  and  disaffected  persons. 
( Supplemented  October  3,  1782.) 

October  2,  1778. 

An  act  for  apprehending  and  delivering  up  to  justice  all  persons 
residing  or  taking  refuge  in  this  State,  charged  with  crimes 
committed  in  any  other  of  the  United  States,  and  for  other  pur 
poses. 

Pennsylvania. 

February  77,  7777. 

An  act  declaring  what  shall  be  treason  and  what  other  crimes 
.  .  .  shall  be  misprision  of  treason. 

March  6,  1778. 

An  act  for  the  attainder  of  divers  traitors,  if  they  render  not 
themselves  by  a  certain  day,  and  for  vesting  their  estates  in  this 
commonwealth.   .   .   . 
(Amended  November  26,  1778.) 

March  8,  1780. 

An  act  for  the  amendment  of  the  law  relative  to  the  punish 
ment  of  treasons,  robberies,  misprisions  of  treason.  .   .   . 
(See  also  November  27,  1778,  and  March  31,  1781). 

Delaware. 

February  22,  7777. 

An  act  to  punish  treasons  and  disaffected  persons.   .   .  . 


APPENDIX  C.  335 

Maryland. 

July  4,  1776. 

Resolve  of  the  Provincial  Convention.  Adherents  to  Great 
Britain  to  suffer  death. 

February,  7777. 

An  act  to  punish  certain  crimes  and  misdemeanors  and  to  pre 
vent  the  growth  of  Toryism. 

Virginia. 

October,  7776. 

An  act  declaring  what  shall  be  treason.     Followed  by  an  act 

for  the  punishment  of  certain  offenses. 

(See  acts  of  pardon,  May,  1782,  October,  1782,  May,  1783.) 

North  Carolina. 

April <?(/>),  7777. 

An  act  declaring  what  crimes  and  practices  against  the  State 
shall  be  treason  and  what  shall  be  misprision  of  treason  .  .  . 
and  for  preventing  the  dangers  which  may  arise  from  persons 
disaffected  to  the  State.  (Amended  later  in  1777.) 

September  15,  7777. 

( Heading  is  same  as  above. ) 

South  Carolina. 

February  20,  7779. 

An  ordinance  to  prevent  persons  withdrawing  from  the  defense 
of  this  State  to  join  the  enemies  thereof. 

Laws  Amercing,  Taxing  or  Confiscating  the  Estates  of 
^[loyalists  or  Anticipating"sucn  ActionT""" 

New  Hampshire. 

November  29,  7777. 

An  act  to  prevent  the  transfer  or  conveyance  of  the  estates  and 
property  of  all  such  persons  who  have  been  or  shall  be  appre 
hended  upon  suspicion  of  being  guilty  of  treason,  misprision  of 
treason,  or  other  inimical  practices  respecting  this  State,  the 
United  States,  any  or  either  of  them,  and  also  for  securing  all 
lands  within  this  State  as  well  of  such  persons  as  have  traitor 
ously  deserted,  or  may  hereafter  desert  the  common  cause  of 
America,  and  have  gone  over  to,  or  in  any  way  or  manner 
joined  our  enemies,  as  of  those  who  belong  to,  or  reside  in 
Great  Britain. 


THE   LOYALISTS. 


November  26, 

An  act  to  prevent  trespass  upon  the  waste  lands  within  this 

State. 
November  28,  1778. 

An  act  to  confiscate  estates  of  sundry  persons  named. 

(Supplemented  June  25,  1779.  ) 
December  26,  1778. 

An  act  to  make  void  all  attachments  which  have  been  or  here 

after  shall  be  laid  or  made  on  the  estates  of  persons  who  have 

left  this  State  or  any  of  the  United  States,  and  have  gone  over 
'*"  to  the  enemies  of  the  said   States  since  the  commencement  of 

hostilities  by  Great  Britain  ;  or  on  the  estates  of  any  inhabitant 

or  subjects  of  Great  Britain. 

Preamble.  —  Whereas  such  attachments  may  be  made  by  the 

collusion  of  the  parties  in  order  to  defeat  this  State  of  the  benefit 

which  may  arise  from  the  confiscation  of  such  estates,  and  to 

defraud  just   creditors  of  their  honest  demands  against  such 

persons. 

Massachusetts. 
April  10  (?},  1777. 

An  act  to  prevent  the  waste  ...  of  goods  or  estates  of  such  per 

sons  who  have  left  .  .  .  fled  to  our  enemies  for  protection.  .   .   . 

(Amended  May-  June,  1778.) 
April  jo,  1779. 

An  act  for  confiscating  the  estates  of  certain  persons  commonly 

called  absentees. 
April  jo,  1779. 

Act  to  confiscate  the  estates  of  certain  notorious  conspirators 
>  against  the  government.  .   .   . 

Rhode  Island. 
October,  1775. 

Act  to  confiscate  and  sequester  estates  and  banish  persons  of  a 

certain  description. 

(  Special  acts  confiscating  special  estates  are  to  be  found  in  the 

Rhode  Island  records  from  this  date  to  October  of  1783.) 
October,  1779. 

An  act  for  confiscating  the  estates  of  certain  persons  therein 

described. 

(See  "  Records  of  Rhode  Island,"  Vol.  IX.,  p.  461.  ) 


APPENDIX  C.  337 

Connecticut. 
June  14,  1776, 

An  act  in  addition  to  an  act  ...  entitled  an  act  for  restraining      ^ 
and  punishing  persons  inimical. 

May  i4(?},  1778. 

An  act  for  confiscating  the  estates  of  Persons  inimical  to  the 
independence  and  liberties  of  the  United  States.  .   .   . 
(Amended  May  15  (?),  1779. ) 

New  York. 

March  7,  1777. 

(See  Proceedings  of  the  New  York  Provincial  Congress.) 

October  /J,  /779- 

An  act  more  effectually  to  prevent  robberies  within  this  State. 

(Revived  July  30,  1780.) 
October  22,  1779. 

Act  for  forfeiture  and  sales  of  the  estates  of  persons  who  have 

adhered  to  the  enemies  of  this  State.   .   .   . 
March  jro,  1780. 

Act  for  the  immediate  sale  of  part  of  the  confiscated  estates.      , 

(Amended  October  7,  1780. ) 

June  75,  1780. 

Act  approving  the  act  of  Congress  of  March  18,  1780,  relative 

to  finances  of  United  States  and  making  provision.   .   .  . 
October  7,  1780. 

Act  to  procure  a  sum  in  specie.  .   .   . 

(Amended  March  31,  1781. ) 
March  75,  1781. 

An  act  for  relieving  such  persons  .   .   .   whose  sons  have  joined 

the  enemy  from  the  penalties  of  a  law  therein  mentioned. 

(Law  of  October  9,  1780. ) 
April  14,  1782. 

An  act  for  the  further  relief  of  the  tenants  of  forfeited  lands.  .  .  . 

March  4,  1783. 

An  act  to  enable  certain  persons  whose  buildings  have  been 
destroyed  ...  to  procure  timber  for  building.  ,, 

April  6,  1784. 

An  act  for  the  immediate  sale  of  certain  forfeited  estates. 


THE   LOYALISTS. 


May  12,  1784. 

An  act  for  the  speedy  sale  of  the  confiscated  estates.  .  .  . 

New  Jersey. 

April  i8j  1778. 

An  act  for  taking  charge  of  and  leasing  real  estates  and  for  for 
feiting  personal  estates  of  certain  fugitives  and  offenders.  .  .  . 

December  //,  1778. 

Act  for  forfeiting  to  and  vesting  in  the  State  the  real  estates  of 
certain  fugitives  and  offenders.  .  .  . 

(June  26,  1781,  an  act  to  suspend  the  sales,  and  December  1  6, 
1783,  an  act  to  continue  the  sales.)  (Supplemented,  Decem- 
her  23,  1783.) 

December  23,  1783, 

An  act  to  appropriate  a  certain  forfeited  estate  ...  to  the  use 
of  Major  General  Baron  Steuben  during  his  life. 

Delaware. 

February  5,  1778. 

Act  declaring  the  estates  of  certain  papers  forfeited.   .   .   .    (?) 

Pennsylvania. 

March  6,  1778. 

(See  under  "Laws  providing  for  the  crime  of  adhering  to 
Great  Britain.")  (Supplemented  April  9,  1779.) 

March  18,  1779. 

(Provides  for  the  disposition  of  Joseph  Galloway's  house.) 

Maryland. 
April  25-June  15,  1782. 

An  act  for  the  liquidation  and  payment  of  debts  against  persons 

convicted  of  treason. 
October-December,  1780. 

(Relates  to  treble  tax  on  non-jurors.) 

Virginia. 
December,  1775. 

An  ordinance  for   establishing  a  mode  of  punishment  for  the 
enemies  to  America  in  this  colony. 
(Amended,  May,  1776.) 


APPENDIX  C.  339 

May,  7779. 

An  act  to  secure  the  movable  property  of  those  who  have 
joined  or  hereafter  may  join  the  enemy. 

October,  1779. 

An  act  concerning  non -jurors. 

October,  1784. 

An  act  respecting  future  confiscations. 

North  Carolina. 

May  13,  1776. 

Resolve  of  Provincial  Congress — estates  of  refugees  to  be  seized. 

November^  1777- 

An  act  for  confiscating  the  property  of  all  such  persons  as  are 
inimical  to  the  United  States,  and  of  such  persons  as  shall  not 
within  a  certain  time  therein  mentioned,  appear  and  submit 
to  the  State  whether  they  shall  be  received  as  citizens  thereof 
and  of  such  persons  as  shall  so  appear  and  shall  not  be  ad 
mitted  as  citizens.  .  .  . 

October,  7779. 

(Act  to  carry  above  into  effect ;  suspended,  September,  1780. ) 

September  3,  1780. 

An  act  for  securing  the  quiet  and  inoffensive  inhabitants  of  this 
State  from  being  injured,  and  for  preventing  such  property  as 
hath  or  may  be  confiscated  from  being  wasted  or  destroyed.  .  .  . 

April  i 3  (/>),  1782. 

An  act  directing  the  sale  of  confiscated  property. 

April  1 8  (?),  1783. 

An  act  of  pardon  and  oblivion. 

(For  similar  laws  see  November,  1786,  and  November,  1788.) 


( An  act  relating  to  the  Commissioners  of  confiscated  property. ) 
October  22,  1784. 

An  act  directing  the  sale  of  confiscated  property. 
November,  1785. 

( An  act  to  secure  the  buyers  of  confiscated  estates.  ) 

(Amended  November,  1786.) 


34°  THE  LOYALISTS. 

South  Carolina. 

February  26,  1782. 

An  act  for  amercing  certain  persons  therein  mentioned. 

February  26,  1782. 

Act  for  disposing  of  certain  estates  and  banishing  certain  per 
sons  therein  mentioned. 
(Amended  March  16,  1783,  and  March  22,  1786). 

Febriiary  26,  1782. 

An  act  for  pardoning  the  persons  therein  described  on  the  con 
ditions  therein  mentioned. 

March  //,  1783. 

An  ordinance  for  disposing  of  the  estates  of  certain  persons, 
subjects  and  adherents  of  the  British  Government.  .  .  . 

March  26,  1784. 

An  act  for  restoring  to  certain  persons  .  .  .  their  estates,  both 
real  and  personal,  and  for  permitting  the  said  persons  to  return 
to  this  State.  .  .  . 

March  26,  1784. 

(Ordinance  amending  Confiscation  Act.) 

March  //,  1786. 

(Concerning  the  debts  due  forfeited  estates.) 

March  24,  1785. 

An  act  to  secure  the  payment  of  the  amercements  imposed  by 
.  .  .  this  State  and  finally  to  close  the  business  of  confiscation 
and  amercement. 

Georgia. 

March  i,  1778. 

An  act  for  attainting  such  persons  as  are  herein  mentioned,  of 
high  treason  and  for  confiscating  their  estates  ...  for  estab 
lishing  boards  of  commissioners  for  the  sales  of  such  estates.  .  .  . 
(Amended  October  30,  1778.) 

November  75,  1778. 

An  act  to  compel  non-residents  to  return  within  a  certain  time, 
or  in  default  .  .  .  their  estates  to  be  confiscated.  .  .  . 

January  11,  1782. 

An  act  for  the  confiscating  of  the  estates  of  certain  persons  .  .  . 
and  for  providing  funds  for  defraying  the  contingent  expenses 
of  this  State. 


APPENDIX  C  34 J 

May  4,  1782. 

An  act  for  inflicting  penalties  on,  and  confiscating  the  estates 
of  such  persons  as  are  declared  guilty  of  treason.  .  .  . 

August  3,  1^82. 

An  act  for  amercing  certain  persons  therein  named.   .   .   . 

Febrtiary  8,  J"?8j. 

(Act  changes  the  number  of  commissioners  of  confiscation.) 

February  17,  1783. 

An  act  to  point  out  the  mode  for  the  recovery  of  property  un 
lawfully  acquired  under  the  British  usurpation  and  withheld 
from  the  rightful  owners. 

July  29,  1783. 

An  act  for  releasing  certain  persons  from  their  bargains,  and 
again  selling  and  disposing  of  the  same  premises,  etc. 

February  7,  1785. 

An  act  for  amercing  certain  persons  therein  named  and  admit 
ting  others  to  the  rights  of  citizenship.  .  .  . 

February  fo,  1787. 

An  act  for  taking  certain  persons  out  of  the  act  of  confiscation 
and  banishment.  . 


INDEX. 


ACTION,  freedom  of,  denied 
the  Loyalist,  203,  204,  205, 
207,  208,  209,  210 

Adams,  John,  2  ;  his  theory  of 
the  Loyalist  party,  3  ;  his 
opinion  of  "  committees  of  cor 
respondence,  "  62  ;  fear  of  un 
settled  conditions,  92  ;  sup 
ports  independence,  100,  101  ; 
anecdote  of,  202  ;  favors  com 
pensating  Loyalists,  287  ;  on 
reasons  for  toleration,  297 

Adams,  Samuel,  2,  7  ;  his  ad 
dresses,  8,  14,  15  ;  his  opinion 
of  the  Regulating  Act,  22  ; 
bold  measures  of,  34  ;  arrest 
ordered,  45  ;  his  belief  in  in 
dependence,  93,  94 

"Addressers,"  (see  addresses)  ; 
names  published,  33  ;  per 
secuted,  40,  41  ;  asked  to  re 
cant,  46 

"Addresses,"  by  the  Loyalists, 
27,  28,  29,  30,  31,  96,  128, 
245,  246 

Aid  rendered  by  the  Tories  to 
the  British  (see  Services), 
126,  127 

Allegiance,  oath  of,  Washington 
demands,  129  ;  effect  of,  130  ; 
phraseology  of,  130,  131  ;  per 
sons  obliged  to  take,  132,  133  ; 
as  a  privelege,  133  ;  place 
where  taken,  134 ;  adminis 
tered  by  whom,  135  ;  penalties 
of  refusal,  136,  239,  240  ;  at 
tempts  to  enforce,  137,  138, 
failure  of,  139 ;  evasion  of, 


139,  140,  301  ;  demanded  by 
both  British  and  Patriots,  141  ; 
result  of  refusal,  192  ;  Whig 
objections  to,  219,  non-jurors 
not  allowed  to  buy  confiscated 
properties,  279 

Allen,  James,  142,  208,  217 

Amory,  Jonathan,  20 

Amusements  of  the  Tories  in 
exile,  56,264,  265,  266,  267 

Anglo-mania,  42,  49,  104 

Aristocracy  of  the  Loyalists,  4, 
5,  25,  26,  33,  87,  91,  92,  280 

Army,  Patriot,  Tory  epithet  for, 
103,  105,  161  ;  ridiculed,  157; 
accusation  of,  157-8  ;  the  sol 
diers  of,  sell  accoutrements, 
162  ;  Tory  militia  greater  than, 
1 72  ;  Arnold' s  proclamation  to, 
1 88;  not  to  be  discountenanced, 
200 ;  starving,  206 ;  aids  in 
seizing  the  dangerous  Tories, 
223 

Arnold,  Benedict,  1 88  ;  Whigs 
did  not  distinguish,  from  other 
Tories,  190 

Ashe,  "Colonel,"  79 

Association,  beginning  of,  by  the 
Loyalists,  27,  55  ;  ;  resolved 
upon  by  the  Continental  Con 
gress,  69  ;  opposed  by  the 
Tories,  70,  71,  72  ;  counter,  by 
the  Loyalists,  73  ;  of  Tories, 
combated  by  Whigs,  74  ;  Whig 
more  successful  than  the  Tories 
in,  74  ;  Tories  protest  against  in 
Georgia,  75  ;  in  arms,  75  ;  in 
North  Carolina,  76 ;  phrase- 


343 


344 


INDEX. 


ology  of  armed  Associations, 
77  ;  methods  of  enforcement, 
78,  79,  80 ;  active  organiza 
tion  by  Loyalists,  82  ;  secret 
methods  of,  82,  83  ;  reasons 
for  failure  of  Tory,  83,  85  ;  of 
Tories  destroyed  by  Whig 
militia,  84,  85  ;  places  where 
successful,  86  ;  nature  of,  129  ; 
of  Refugees,  177  ;  Board  of 
Directors  of  the,  of  Loyalists, 
262 

BAHAMAS,    as   a   refuge    for 

*-*     the  Tories,  243 

Banishment,  of  Loyalists,  137  ; 
kind  of  Tories  who  suffered, 
237  ;  time  and  manner  of,  in 
the  several  states,  237-240  ; 
accomplished  by  social  means, 
241  ;  place  of,  243  ;  life  dur 
ing,  244-267  ;  laws  for  the  pur 
pose  of,  331-333 

Battles,  in  which  Loyalists  were 
prominent, — Moore' s  Creek, 
97  ;  Fort  Stanwix   and    Oris-  | 
kany,    166  ;   Newtown,     167  ;  j 
Savannah,  185  ;  Camden,  186  ;  j 
King's  Mountain,  187  ;   Cow- 
pens,  1 88 

Bernard,  Governor,  8 

Billeting,  of  British  soldiers  on 
Loyalists,  248,  249 

Bishops,    attempt  to  send    them  j 
to  America,  109 

Boston,  Action  of,  on  the  Town- 
shend  measures,  7>  8  ;  the  mas 
sacre,  9  ;  the  center  of  rebel 
lion,  14,  15  ;  tea  party,  1 6  ; 
Port  Bill,  19  ;  four  regiments 
for,  20 ;  aid  sent  to,  24  ; 
Loyalist  activity  in,  27,  29  ; 
Whig  League  in,  31  ;  mea 
sures  for  relief  of,  34  ;  as  a 
haven  of  refuge  for  the  Tories, 
43,  46  ;  British  army  beseiged 
in,  45  ;  the  seige  of,  52-56  ; 


Evacuation    of,     56-59  ;    con 
duct  of  Whigs  in,  107 

Boucher,  Jonathan,  on  the  divine 
right  of  Kings,    21,    22  ;   op 
poses  sending  aid  to  Boston,  24 
!  Boycotting,  of  the  Tories,  39,  40, 

72,  234 

I  Branding,  Loyalists  punished  by, 
274 

Brandt,   the   Indian   ally  of  the 

Tories,  167 

I  British  Government,  action  of,  3, 
n,  16,  18,  20,  45,  94  ;  relied 
upon  by  the  Tories,  81  ;  com 
pensates  the  Loyalists,  288  ; 
care  for  the  refugee  Loyalists, 
288,  292,  298,  299,  300; 
compensates  Loyalists,  300- 
303  ;  costs  of  Loyalists  to,  303 

Bunker  Hill,  50,  51 

Burgoyne,  the  defeat  of,  effect 
of,  156  ;  aided  by  Tories,  183, 
299 ;  defeat  pleases  Curwen, 
257 

Burke,  Edmund,  16 

Butler,  Walter,  a  Tory  leader, 
1 66 

Camden,  battle  of,  1 86 

Campaigns  in  which  the  Loy 
alists  aided  the  British,  183, 
184,  185-189 

Campbell,  Duncan,  166 

Campbell,  General,  67 

Canada,  extended  to  Ohio  River. 
20  ;  as  a  place  of  refuge  for 
the  loyalists,  243,  298,  299 

Carlisle,  a  Philadelphia  Loyalist, 
270,  271 

Caswell,  Richard,  97 

Catharine,  Empress,  94 

Catholicism,  Tory  denunciation 
of,  154,  1 88 

Centers  of  Loyalism,  85,  96,  97, 
98,  101,  102,  103,  108,  116, 
117,  118;  in  Pa.,  N.  J.,  Del., 
Md.,  Va.,  1 60,  224,  225  ;  in 
Conn.,  226,  in  general,  302,  303 


INDEX. 


345 


Certificates,  travelers,  obliged  to  j 
carry,    132,   135,    149  5  issuing  | 
of,  based  on  confiscated  prop 
erty,  279 

Charity,  for  Loyalist  poor,  171, 
260,  261,  262 

Charleston,  Tories  at,  185  ;  evac 
uation  of,  288,  289 

Charlestown,  demolition  of,  53 

Chatham,  1 1,  18,  20 

Cherry  Valley,  166,  167 

Church,  English  or  Established, 
5,  21,  24,  25,  27,  108-115 

Civil  government,  Loyalists  urge 
the  British  to  establish,  249 

Clark,  George  Rogers,  184 

Classification  of  the  Loyalists,  26, 
33,  92,  210,  240 

Clergy,  as  Loyalists,  5,  21,  24, 
25  ;  of  Boston  address  Hutch- 
inson,  27  ;  in  New  York,  108  ; 
in  American  revolutionary 
politics,  109-115  ;  refuse  to 
celebrate  Whig  fast  day,  209 

Clinton,  Sir  Henry,  185  ;  im 
portuned  for  aid  by  the  refu 
gees,  254 

Golden,  Lieut.  Governor,  70,  89 

College  of  Philadelphia,  Whig 
attack  upon,  196 

Commercialism,  of  Tories,  9,  12, 
13,  20,  21,  32,  33,  59,  70,  7i> 
73,  79,  108  ;  of  Whigs,  112, 
117,  204 

Commission,  British,  for  enquir 
ing  into  the  Loyalists'  claims, 
82,  203,  301-303 
Commissioners,    tea,    13  ;    resig 
nation  of,  14 

Committee  of  safety,  activity  of, 
46,  60  ;  complaints  made  to, 
47  ;  organization  of,  63  ; 
powers  given,  64,  65,  66  ; 
tyranny  of,  66  ;  action  in  New 
York,  121  ;  enforce  fast  day, 
208,  209  ;  treatment  of  pris 
oners,  237 


Committees,  organization  of,  62- 
64  ;  Tory  protest  against,  65  ; 
compared  with  those  of  French 
Revolution,  66  ;  Tory  hatred 
of,  67,  68  ;  bounty  offered  for 
the  members,  67  ;  difficult  po 
sition  of,  68  ;  importance  of, 
69  ;  enforce  the  Continental 
Association,  71,  72  ;  ordered 
to  combat  the  Tory  association, 
74  ;  draw  up  the  ' '  associa 
tion,"  77  ;  proselyting  by,  78, 
79  ;  demagoguery  of,  8 1  ; 
methods  of  coercion,  82  ;  at 
tempt  to  capture  Whigs,  84  ;  of 
correspondence  in  New  York, 
116  ;  of  safety  in  New  York, 
119,  1 20,  123  ;  members  cap 
tured  by  Tories,  175  ;  ostracise 
the  Tories,  214;  activity 
against  Tories  in  New  York, 
271 

Compensation,  of  the  Loyalists,  by 
the  British  Government,  260  ; 
discussion  of,  by  treaty  com 
missioners,  287  ;  by  the  British 
government,  288  ;  demand  for, 
299  ;  history  and  method  of, 
300-303 

Conciliation,  attempts  at,  127, 
128  ;  Tory  attempt  to  bring 
about,  283-285 

Confiscation,  threats  of,  80  ; 
authorized  by  Parliament,  96  ; 
early  intended  by  the  Whigs, 
194,  239  ;  in  North  and  South 
Carolina,  241  ;  of  household 
goods,  276  ;  urged  by  Paine, 

277  ;  Congress  approves,   277, 

278  ;  method  of,   278  ;  results 
of,       280  ;      defended,       280, 
281  ;  denounced,  281  ;  threats 
against,     282  ;    repeal    of  the 
laws    asked    by   Tories,   284  ; 
treaty  provision  as  to,  286,  295  ; 
laws  for  the  purpose  of,  335- 
341 


346 


INDEX. 


Congress,     the  Continental,    34, 
35,  41  ;   action  of  the  second, 
50  ;  resolves  upon  an  associa 
tion,  69,  approves  of  committee 
activity,     76  ;     imprecated   by 
Tories,     83  ;    nature   of  Tory 
opposition    to,    87  ;    how   the 
delegates  were  chosen,  87,  88,  j 
89  ;  its  remarkable  hold  upon 
the   colonists,     89,    90 ;    Tory 
invective      against,     91,     96 ;  ! 
struggle  in   for  independence,  j 
94>  95>   9^  5  no  Georgia  dele-  ; 
gates  to  First,  97  ;  delay  Dec-  j 
laration  of  Independence,  100  ; 
election  of    delegates  in   New  j 
York,    116;    objections    to  its! 
measures  in  New   York,  H7;| 
New      York's      delegates     to  { 
the  second,   118;  interferes  in! 
New  York,    119;  recommends  j 
disarmment,    122,    163  ;  advise  j 
states    to  seize  suspects,    149  ; 
finance  of,  152  ;  action  in  the  | 
French  alliance,    153,    154 ;    a 
plot   to  capture   the,  161  ;    de-  j 
nounced  by  Arnold,    1 88  ;   by  j 
Tories,    193  ;    urges  attack  on  J 
Tories,     198,     199  ;  protected  J 
from    defamation,     199,     200, 
20 1  ;  urges  states  to  stop  the 
depreciation  of  its  money,  202  ; 
proclaims    a     fast     day,    208  ; 
ostracizes  Queens  County,  New 
York,   215  ;  requests  seizure  of 
Tories  in  Maryland  and  Dela 
ware,    224,    225  ;    tardy  action 
of,  criticized,  225  ;  denounced, 
258,     259,    265  ;    approves   of 
confiscation,  277,  278  ;  recom 
mends  revision   of  confiscation 
laws,  286,  289,  295 

Congregationalists,  in  American 
politics,  109 

Connecticut,  special  committees 
in,  64  ;  independence  in,  IOI  ; 
clergy  of,  lio,  113;  "test 


laws"  of,  132;  laws  against 
aiding  the  British,  150,  204  ; 
Tory  raids  in,  1 74  ;  laws  against 
freedom  of  speech,  199  ;  laws 
against  spies,  204  ;  Tories  from 
New  Jersey  and  New  York  sent 
to,  226 

Connolly,  John,  the  seizure  and 
imprisonment  of,  228-231 

Cornwallis,  General,  186,  189, 
247 

Correspondence,  committees  of, 
14,  31,  32  ;  organization  of,  62 

Corruption,  England's  use  of,  4  ; 
that  of  the  English  court  repro 
duced  in  America,  4  ;  charges 
of,  27  ;  in  the  confiscation  of 
Loyalists'  estates,  280 

Courts,  civil,  denied  the  Tories, 
*93>  *94,  195  5  Tories  tried  in, 
271  ;  impossibility  of  fair  trial 
in,  272 

Covenant,  the  solemn  League, 
and,  31,  32  ;  the  fate  of,  69 

Cowpens,  defeat  of  Tories  at, 
1 88 

Criminals,  treatment  of  Tories 
regarded  as,  235-237 

"  Cropping,"  Loyalists  punished 
by,  205,  274 

Cross  Creek,  96,  97 

Cunningham,  the  British  jailer, 

237 

Curwen,  Samuel,  46,  51,  102, 
256  ;  patriotism  of,  257  ;  phi 
losophy  of,  257,  258 

DELANCEY  Party,  109,  115 
Delaware,  test  laws  of,  132, 
133  ;  laws  against  aiding 
the  British,  150  ;  Loyalist 
centers  in,  1 60  ;    uprising 
of  Tories  in,  167  ;  seizure 
of  Tories  in,  224,  225 
Democracy,  Whig  belief  in,  63  ; 
value  of,  appreciated  by  Con 
gress,  76,  95  ;  strength  of,  89  ; 


INDEX. 


347 


Tory  disdain  of,  91,  92,  229  ; 
take  control  in  Pennsylvania, 
1 02  ;  ridiculed  by  Tories,  105, 
254  ;  furthered  by  confiscation, 
280 

Demagogues,  revolutionary,  62, 
63,  79,  80,  81,  87,  88,  91, 
no 

Denunciation,  public,  of  Tories, 
80,  190,  191,  192 

Dependence,  of  Loyalists,  125, 
146  ;  fatal  result  of,  167  ; 
shown  by  their  confidence  in 
the  British  Gov't,  245,  259 

Deserters,  to  the  British,  157, 
159,  1 60,  185  ;  Loyalist's 
scorn  for,  263 

Directors,  Board  of,  the  Associ 
ated  Loyalists,  262 

Disarming,  of  Tories,  96 ;  in 
N.  Y.,  121,  122-126  ;  recom 
mended  by  Congress,  122 ; 
effect  of,  159  ;  reason  for,  163  ; 
agents  employed  in,  163 

Disfranchisement,  of  Tories,  192, 
199  ;  laws  aimed  at,  330  ;  after 
the  treaty  of  peace,  295 

Disqualification  of  Tories  to  hold 
office,  193 ;  to  sue  in  the 
courts,  193,  194 ;  to  practice 
in  courts,  195  ;  to  practice 
professions,  196,  197,  209 ; 
of  Tory  merchants,  198;  laws 
aimed  at,  330 

Dorchester  Heights,  56 

Dunmore,   Lord,  82,  83,  84,  98, 

99 

Dutch  as  Loyalists,  102,  117 
Dickinson,   John,   opposes   inde 
pendence,  94 

EDEN,    Robert,    Governor    of 
Md.,  103,  255 
Edson,  "Deacon,"  38 
England  as  a  place  of  Refuge  for 
the  Loyalists,  243,   256,  257, 
258,  259 


Employment  of  the  Loyalists  by 
the  British,  55,  56,  146-148, 
1 68 

Enlistment  of  Loyalists  in  the 
British  army,  147  ;  delay  in, 
165  ;  under  Tory  leaders,  1 66  ; 
delay  in  explained,  167  ;  criti 
cised,  1 68  ;  encouraged  by 
Howe,  1 68  ;  urged  by  Loyal 
ists,  169 ;  new  inducements 
to,  171  ;  of  refugees  as  priva- 
teersmen,  179  ;  in  the  regular 

.   army,    182  ;  total  number  of, 

183 

Episcopalians  (see  Church,  Eng 
lish),  identity  with  the  Crown 
officers,  no 

Evacuation  of  Boston,  56-59  ;  of 
Charleston  and  Savannah, 
288  ;  of  New  York,  289,  291- 
296 

Execution  of  Loyalists  by  Whigs, 
176,  184,  269-272 ;  actual 
number  small,  273 

Exile,  of  Tories,  into  neighbor 
ing  states,  123  ;  of  Van 
Schaack,  142  ;  of  North  Caro 
lina  Tories,  217-219  ;  manner 
of,  225,  226,  227,  228  ;  treat 
ment  in,  231  ;  life  of  the 
Loyalists  in,  243-267  ;  laws 
intended  for  the  purpose  of, 

331-333 
Expatriation,  288-307 

"C  ACTION,  among  the  Loyal- 

*       ists,  262,  263 

"Fair  American,"    a    privateer 

fitted  out  by  loyal  women,  178, 

179 

Fairfield,  burning  of,  177 
Falmouth,  the  burning  of,  95 
Famine,  loyalists  suffer  from,  52- 

56 

Faneuil  Hall,  8,  14,    15,  32,  56 
Farmers,    interests  of,    70,    117, 


348 


INDEX. 


Ferguson,  Colonel,  defeat  at 
King's  Mountain,  187 

Fining  the  Tories,  121,  192, 
194,  196,  198,  199,  200,  205, 
206,  241  ;  laws  for,  335-341  ; 
general  subject  of,  273-275  ; 
compensation  for,  302 

Fiske,  John,  his  theory  of  the 
Revolution,  158,  159 

Foraging  by  the  Tory  bands, 
174,  175,  182 

France,  alliance  with,  152  ;  ab 
horred  by  the  Loyalists,  153- 
156  ;  denounced,  266  ;  urges 
compensation  of  the  Loyalists, 
287 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  1 1,  93,  154, 
156,  251 

Franklin,  "Governor,"  101 

French  Revolution,  the  commit 
tee-men  of,  compared  with 
Whig  committee-men,  66 

PAGE,  General,  8  ;  temporary 

^J  governor  of  Massachusetts, 
20  ;  addressed,  28,  29,  31  ; 
proclamation  by,  32,  33,  34, 
40 ;  convenes  Massachusetts 
Assembly,  34  ;  shut  up  in  I 
Boston,  43  ;  urged  to  be  severe 
with  Whigs,  43 ;  denounced 
in  England,  45  ;  his  action  and 
the  result,  45,  48  ;  opinion  of 
Whig  government,  49 

Galloway,  Joseph,  his  testimony 
before  the  House  of  Commons, 
85,  87,  247  ;  employment  by 
British,  157  ;  urges  British  to 
arm  the  Tories,  159,  160 ; 
plots  to  seize  the  Governor 
and  Council  of  New  Jersey 
and  Congress,  161  ;  his  rela-  j 
tions  with  the  British  com 
mander,  246  ;  employment  and 
_  salary  of,  255 

Gates,  Horatio,  defeat  of, 
1 86 


George  III.,  loyalist  opinion  of, 
21  ;  epithets  for,  94  ;  destruc 
tion  of  statue  of,  107  ;  celebra 
tion  of  birthday  by  Loyalists, 
264,  265,  266 

Georgia,  strength  of  Loyalists  in, 
75,  88,  96,  97  ;  internecine 
war  in,  184  ;  Tory  power  re 
stored  in,  185  ;  passes  pres 
criptive  act,  240 

Gerard,  the  French  minister,  153 

Germain,  Lord,  94,  181 

Germans,  as  mercenaries,  94,  95  ; 
as  Loyalists,  102 

Gilbert,  Thomas,  39,  74 

Government,  local,  in  America, 
48 

Gray,   Harrison,    Loyalist,    258, 

259 

Graydon,  Alexander,  66 
Greene,  General,  167 
Guerilla  warfare,   carried  on    by 

Tories,    184-189 

HALIFAX,  claim  commission 
ers  in,  302;  Shelburne 
Loyalists  flee  to,  306 

Hallowell,  Benj.,  38,  58 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  296 

Hancock,  John,  45,  219 

Henry,  Patrick,  on  toleration  for 
Tories,  297 

Higginson,  Madame,  43 

Howe,  Lord,  55,  57,  124,  127, 
128,  141,  152,  158,  168,  217, 
246 

Hutchinson,  Governor,  9  ;  super 
seded  by  Gage,  20  ;  addressed, 
27,  28,  29,  30 

IMPRISONMENT,  of  Tories, 
123,   136,    192,   194,    199, 

205,  2 1 6,  217  ;  in  Virginia, 
New  York  and  Massachusetts, 
220  ;  in  South  Carolina  and 
Connecticut,  221  ;  of  Con 
nolly,  228-231  ;  in  the  Sims- 


INDEX. 


349 


bury  mines,  235-237  ;  treaty 
provision  for  freeing  Loyalists, 
287  ;  no  compensation  for,  302 
Independence,  the  idea  flattered 
the  people,  92  ;  Whig  leaders 
slow  to  embrace  idea,  93  ; 
struggle  for  in  Congress,  94, 
95,  96 ;  struggle  in  North 
Carolina  for,  96,  97  ;  struggle 
in  Georgia  for,  97,  98  ;  in  South 
Carolina,  98  ;  in  Virginia,  98, 
99 ;  in  Rhode  Island  and 
Massachusetts,  99,  loo  ;  action 
on  in  Congress,  100  ;  in  Con 
necticut,  New  Hampshire, 
New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania, 
Maryland  and  New  York,  101  ; 
opposed  by  Quakers,  Dutch 
and  Germans,  102  ;  campaign 
for  in  Maryland  and  New 
York,  103,  104 ;  denounced 
by  Tories,  105,  106 ;  not  in 
favor  in  New  York,  1 08,  120  ; 
king's  oath  concerning,  17°; 
not  to  be  denounced,  200 ; 
Quaker  disapproval  of,  210 ; 
loyal  sentiment  on,  265  ;  the 
Loyalists'  declaration  of,  309- 

317    . 

Indians,  Tories  act  with,  167,  184 
Inquisition,  60—86 
Insurrections      of     Tories,     the 

Whig    terror    of,    213,     162  ; 

methods   of  preventing,    163  ; 

between   the   Chesapeake  and 

Delaware,  1 66 
Interdict,       Congress      declares, 

against  Queens  County,   215  ; 

against  Richmond  County,  216 

JACOBINISM,   compared  with 

J      Whigism,  66 

Jay,  John,  on  toleration  of  the 
Tories,  296 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  on  indepen 
dence,  93  ;  attempted  capture 
of  by  Tarleton,  189 


Johnson,    Guy,    a    Tory   leader, 

165 

Johnson,  Sir  John,  126  ;  organ 
izes  refugee  Loyalists,  1 66 

KELLY,  Hugh,  82 
Kingship,  love  of  in  Amer 
ica,  2,  21,  22 

King's  Mountain,  defeat  of 
Tories  at,  187 

T  AFAYETTE,  155 
"     Laurens,  Henry,  2O2 
Lawyers   as    Loyalists,    28,    3°> 
ill;    disqualified  to  practice, 

195 

Lee,  Charles,  126,  131,  225 

Lee,  Richard  Henry,  his  resolu 
tion  of  independence,  IOO 

Leonard,  Daniel  (see  "  Massa- 
chusettensis"),  21  ;  attacked 
by  mob,  36  ;  on  committees  of 
correspondence,  62 

Lexington,  45  ;  Whig  reports  of, 
48;  political  results  of,  119 

Liberty,  the  Sons  of,  8,  34  ;  a 
Tory  epithet  for,  60,  6 1,  62  ; 
action  of,  75  ;  denounced,  112 

Livingston  Governor,  of  New 
Jersey,  150  ;  plot  to  seize,  161 

Livingston  Party,  109,  115 

Lloyd's  Neck,  station  for  the 
loyal  privateersmen,  182 

Long  Island,  committee  rule  op 
posed  in,  68 ;  loyal  majority 
in,  88  ;  attack  on  church  prop 
erty  in,  113;  "  protesters  "  in, 
117;  Tories  harried  in,  124; 
defeat  of  Patriots,  128  ;  Tories 
seized  on,  223  ;  confiscation 
on,  280 

Lotteries,  use  of,  to  obtain  relief 
for  refugees,  262 

"  Loyal  Greens,"  1 66 

Loyalist,  a  typical,  I 

Loyalists,  persecution  of  the,  I  ; 
creation  of  the  party,  3  ;  their 


350 


INDEX. 


number  as  compared  with  the 
Patriots,  3  ;  colonial  officers, 
the  leaders,  of  the,  4  ;  social 
position  of,  5  ;  failure  to  act 
in  the  early  period,  6  ;  wait 
for  Parliament  to  act,  7  ;  polit 
ical  philosophy  of,  9,  10 ; 
difference  between  English 
and  American  Tories,  1 1  ; 
their  defence  of  the  tea  tax, 
12  ;  abuse  the  tea  commis 
sioners,  13  ;  threaten  the 
Whigs,  1 6  ;  complain  of  the 
British  government,  1 6  ;  fear 
to  use  tea,  17  ;  reasons  for 
joining  the  party,  17  ;  urge 
the  British  Government  to  act, 
1 8  ;  attitude  toward  the  Port 
Bill  and  Regulating  Act,  20, 
21  ;  the  patriotism  of,  22  ;  op 
pose  sending  aid  to  Boston,  24  ; 
the  classes  of,  25,  26 ;  de 
prived  of  free  speech,  27  ; 
address  the  king's  officers,  28, 
29>  3°>  31  5  protest  against 
Whig  measures,  31,  32 ;  the 
social  status  of,  33  ;  leaders  at 
tacked  by  mobs  in  Massachu 
setts,  35—38  ;  social  reproba 
tion  of,  38,  39  ;  boycotted  and 
ostracised,  40-42  ;  rash  talk  of, 
43  ;  urge  soldiers  to  punish 
\Vhigs,  44 ;  general  persecu 
tion  of,  begun,  45,  46  ;  their 
property  destroyed,  47,  48  ; 
opinion  of  British  power,  49  ; 
at  Bunker  Hill,  50,  51  ;  be- 
seiged  in  Boston, 52-56  ;  evac 
uate  Boston  with  the  British, 
56-59  ;  threatened  by  Whigs, 
60  ;  tarred  and  feathered,  6 1  ; 
attacked  by  the  revolutionary 
committees,  62  ;  powers  of 
committees  over,  64,  65  ;  pro 
test  against  committees,  65  ; 
accuse  Whig  of  tyranny,  66  ; 
hatred  of  Whig  committee- 


men,  67,  68  ;  oppose  the  non 
importation  association,  70,  71; 
suffer  more  than  the  Whigs,  72, 
73  ;  organize  a  counter-asso 
ciation,  73  ;  their  efforts  de 
nounced,  74;  strength  of,  in 
certain  parts  of  America,  75  ; 
coercion  of,  78,  79,  80  ;  prone 

~  to  await  British  action,  81  , 
attempt  to  associate  in  Mary 
land,  82,  83,  84  ;  general  rea- 

•  son  for  failure,  85  ;  aristocracy 
of,  87  ;  strength  in  New  York, 
89 ;  combat  in  Congress  the 
move  for  independence,  94,  95, 
96  ;  their  disarmment  ordered, 
96 ;  their  strength  in  North 
Carolina,  96  ;  their  overthrow 
in  North  Carolina,  97  ;  in 
Georgia,  97,  98 ;  in  South 
Carolina,  98  ;  in  Virginia,  98, 
99  ;  status  of,  after  indepen 
dence,  loo  ;  strength  in  New 
York  and  Pennsylvania,  101, 

102  ;    strength    in    Maryland, 

103  ;  new  status  of,  after  inde 
pendence,    104,   ridicule  inde 
pendence,  democracy,  etc.,  105, 
106  ;    Episcopalians   as,    109— 
115;    liberal    and    ultra-tories 
in  New  York,  116,  118,  120; 
seized  and  disarmed  in    New 
York,  121  ;  ordered  disarmed 
by     Congress,      122  ;     exiled, 
123  ;  harried  by  militia,  124; 
without  arms,  125  ;  seizure  of, 
125,  126  ;  plot  against  Wash 
ington's  life,    127  ;  joy  at  the 
coming  of  Howe,    128  ;    com 
pelled  to  take  oath  of  allegi 
ance,  129,    130,   132-134;  de 
nounced  as  perjurers,  140;  be 
tween  two  fires,  141  ;  criticise 
the    test    laws,     142-144;   as 
refugees  in  New   York,    146  ; 
employment  by  British,    147- 
149  ;  services,    150,  depreciate 


INDEX. 


351 


Whig  money,  151  ;  abhor 
French  alliance,  152-156  ; 
their  political  struggle  with 
the  Whigs,  158  ;  as  deserters 
to  the  British,  159,  their 
eagerness  to  arm  against 
Whigs,  1 60  ;  plots  of,  161  ;  | 
corrupt  the  Patriot  soldiers,  j 

162  ;  agents  who  disarmed  the, 

163  ;  thorough  work  disarming 
the,  164  ;  delay  in  giving  mili 
tary  aid   to  the  British,   165; 
activity     in    frontier    warfare, 

1 66  ;    defeated   at   Newtown, 

167  ;    a     British     commission 
urged  the  employment  of,  168  ; 
urge    fellows    to    enlist,    169, 

170  ;  to  have  their  own  officers, 

171  ;  compulsory  military  ser 
vice  for,  173  ;    nature  of  their 
military  duty,    173,    174  ;   li 
censed  to  prey  on  the  Whigs, 
174,  charged  with  murder  by 
the   Whigs,    176  ;   resolve   on 
retaliation,  177  ;  as  privateers- 

jnen,     178,     179,    180 ;    their 
Board     of     Directors,      181  ; 
nature  of  their  marauding  ex 
peditions,    182  ;  number  of  in 
the  British   service,    183 ;  aid 
Burgoyne,      183  ;      active     in 
border   warfare,    184  ;    in  the 
south,     184-189  ;    method    of 
escape    from    Yorktown,    189, 
rabid     denunciation    of,    190—  j 
192;  disfranchisement  of,  192  ;  j 
disqualification      to     use     the 
courts,     193,    194,    195  ;    dis 
qualified     to      practice      their 
professions,    196,    197  ;    mer 
chants  forbidden  to  sell,    198; 
forbidden     the      freedom      ofj 
speech   and   press,    198,    199,  j 
200,    20 1  ;    depreciate  Conti-  I 
nental  money,  202  ;  ruined  by  I 
Continental     currency,      203  ;  ! 
the  scapegoats  for  Whig  laws,  j 


204  ;  as  spies,  204,  205  ;  com 
pelled  to  military  service,  206, 
207,  208  ;  persecuted  for  fail 
ure  to  fast,  208,  209  ;  Quakers 
as,  210;  Whig  desire  to  con 
vert,  212  ;  social  ostracism, 
213,  214,  215  ;  confined  to 
their  houses,  216  ;  exiled  from 
North  Carolina,  217  ;  seizure 
of  in  several  states,  218-222  ; 
Whig  fear  of,  222  ;  seized  and 
exiled  by  the  army,  223  ; 
seized  in  Maryland  and  Dela 
ware,  224,  225  ;  places  to 
which  they  were  exiled,  226  ; 
manner  of  exile,  227  ;  treat 
ment  of,  when  driven  from 
home,  227-230 ;  in  prisons, 
231  ;  under  parole,  232,  233  ; 
life  of,  in  exile,  234,  235  ;  in 
prison,  236,  237  ;  banishment 
of,  237-242  ;  their  places  of 
refuge,  243  ;  summary  of  perse 
cution  of,  244  ;  life  in  New 
York,  Philadelphia  and  New 
port,  244-255  ;  civil  govern 
ment  for,  249,  250  ;  support 
of,  by  British,  255,  256  ; 
patriotism  of,  256,  257;  despair 
of,  258  ;  confidence  in  British 
Government,  258,  259 ;  care 
of,  in  New  York,  260-262  ; 
faction  among,  263  ;  pleasures 
and  pastimes  of,  264—267  ; 
how  they  received  the  treaty 
of  peace,  267  ;  regarded  as 
traitors,  268,  269  ;  tried  and 
executed  for  treason,  270-273; 
fined,  274  ;  property  amerced, 
274,  275  ;  treble-taxed,  275  ; 
their  household  goods  seized, 
276,  277  ;  confiscation  of  their 
property,  278-282  ;  threaten 
the  Whig  confiscators,  282  ; 
attempt  reconciliation  with  the 
Whigs,  283,  284,  285  ;  dis 
position  of  in  the  treaty  of 


35  2 


INDEX. 


peace,  286  ;  denounce  the 
treaty,  287  ;  compelled  to 
leave  with  the  British  troops, 
288  ;  evacuate  Charleston  and 
Savannah,  289  ;  begin  to  leave 
New  York,  289  ;  removal 
undertaken  by  British  govern 
ment,  292  ;  29,000  leave  New 
York,  293  ;  accused  of  out 
rages  when  leaving  New  York, 
294  ;  persecuted  after  peace, 
295,  296  ;  reasons  for  tolera 
tion  of,  297  ;  remain,  in  part, 
in  the  United  States,  298  ; 
routes  taken  by  the  fleeing, 
298  ;  dispersion  of,  298,  299  ; 
temporarily  supported  by 
British  Government,  299,  300;  | 
history  of  the  compensation  of,  i 
300-303  ;  life  in  Nova  Scotia,  | 
304-307  ;  United  Empire,  ! 
307 

Loyalty    (see    "  Reasons")   the; 
normal  condition,  2  ;  of  influ-  • 
ential    Americans,    England's  i 
attempt  to  retain,   3  ;    of  the  j 
aristocratic  elements  of  society,  ! 
5  ;  due   to   religious   reasons,  ' 
25,  27  ;  economic  reasons  for,  I 
70  ;  proclamations  of,  73,  75  ; 
extravagant     expressions     of, 
264,  265,  266,  267 

Vf  ANDAMUS    Council,     19  : 

^*-  members  persecuted,  35- 
39  ;  boycotted,  41  ;  activity  of 
its  members,  73  ;  not  allowed 
to  take  oath,  133 

Marauders,  Tories  as,    174,  175,  ! 
176,  177,  182 

Marblehead,  citizens  of,  address  ! 
Hutchinson,  28  ;  addressers  re 
buked,  29 

Marion,  the  Patriot  leader,  185, 
1 86 

Martin,  Governor,  79,  80,  88, 
96,  204 


Maryland,  committee  system  in, 
64,  82  ;  Loyalist  association 
in,  83,  84  ;  political  campaign 
in,  101,  103  ;  exemptions  from 
its  test  law,  133  ;  Loyalist 
centers  in,  160  ;  uprising  in, 
167  ;  defends  severe  laws 
against  the  Tories,  21 1  ;  seiz 
ure  of  Tories  in,  224  ;  treble- 
taxes  the  Tories,  275 

Massachusetts,  8  ;  charter  an 
nulled,  19  ;  political  parties 
in,  26  ;  assembly  convened, 
34  ;  resolve  of  its  provincial 
congress,  41  ;  declared  in  re 
bellion,  45  ;  Tory  property 
destroyed  in,  47  ;  committees 
of  correspondence  organized 
in,  62  ;  Provincial  Congress 
of,  denounces  loyal  association, 
74  ;  forms  the  first  independent 
government,  93,  99,  100  ;  test 
laws,  133,  135  >  laws  against 
Tories  in,  194,  200  ;  seizes  the 
Tories,  220  ;  banishes  Tories, 
237,  238,  239 

"  Massachusettensis,"  denounces 
rebellion,  42  ;  shows  the  power 
of  England,  49 ;  sneers  at 
Whig  pretensions  of  loyalty, 

93 
Maximum,  the  law  of  the,    71, 

73  ;  established  by  the  British 

in  New  York,  250 
McDonald,  Donald,  96 
McLean,  Allan,  a  Tory  leader, 

I65 
Militia,  T-dfiks  organize,  54,  55, 

74,  8 1, '83;  84;  of  Whigs  de 
stroy  Tdry  associations,  85  ; 
in  North  Carolina,  96,  97 ; 
service  of  Tories  not  appreci 
ated  by  British,  147  ;  attempts 
to  organize,  159,  160;  Loyal 
ists  urge  the  formation  of,  169, 
1 70 ;  method  of  organizing, 
171,  172,  173  ;  first  appearance 


INDEX. 


353 


and  number  of,  171,  172; 
compulsory  service  in,  173 ; 
work  of,  especially  angers  the 
Whigs,  173,  174;  number  of, 
183  ;  their  campaigns  with  the 
British,  184-189 

Militia,  Tories  organize,  reasons 
for  delay  in  so  doing,  246 

Military  service,  compulsory, 
206,  207,  208  ;  by  the  British, 
250  ;  by  the  Whigs,  273 

Mobs,  early  action  of,  6,  7  ; 
attack  tea  commissioners,  14  ; 
attack  Mandamus  Councillors, 
35-39  ;  persecute  Tories,  46, 
47 1  75  ;  m  Boston,  107  ;  in 
New  York,  107  ;  in  Philadel 
phia,  210;  their  treatment  of 
exiled  Tories,  228,  230 

Mohawk  Valley,  Tory  reign  of 
terror  in,  167 

Money,  the  Continental,  depre 
ciated  by  the  Tories,  149,  151, 
152  ;  depreciation  prohibited, 

200,  201,   202,  203 

Montreal,  as  refuge  for  Loyalists, 
298  ;  claim  commission  at,  302 
Moore's  Creek,  97,  166,  217 
Morgan,  Daniel,  188 
Morris,  Robert,  251 
Murray,  James,  6,  7 

MANTUCKET,    a    refuge   for 

•^      Tories,  46 

Nationality  of  Loyalists,  33,  79  ; 

of  deserters  to  the  British,  157  ; 

the  proportion  of  foreign  born, 

303 

Neutrals,  the  proportion  of,  158, 
159,  attempts  to  force  them 
from  their  position,  275 

New  England,  religion  in  the 
politics  of,  109,  1 10  ;  coast  at 
tacked  by  loyal  privateers,  182 

New  Hampshire,  95,  101,  240 

New  Haven,  ships  burned  in  the 
harbor  of,  177 
24 


New  Jersey,  destruction  of  Tory 
association  in,  84,  85  ;  inde 
pendence  in,  IOI  ;  test  laws  of, 
132  ;  laws  against  aiding  the 
British,  150;  Loyalist  centers 
in,  1 60  ;  Loyalists  in,  aban 
doned  by  British,  167  ;  Tory 
raids  in,  174  ;  legislature  of, 
denounces  Tory  marauding, 
176  ;  disqualifies  Tory  lawyers, 
195  ;  and  teachers,  196,  197  ; 
laws  regulating  travellers,  205  ; 
laws  to  stop  trading  with  the 
British,  205  ;  exiling  of  its 
Tories,  222  ;  sends  Tories  to 
Connecticut,  226  ;  law  against 
treason,  268,  269 

Newport,  R.  I.,  treatment  of  the 
Tories  in,  247 

Newspapers,  the  political  work 
of,  9,  12,  13,  16,  17,  21,  23, 
42,70,  93,  104,  105,  113,  114, 
140,  150,  151,  152-155,  253, 
254  ;  virulence  of,  I75>  !76, 
182,  190  ;  canards  of  the  loyal, 
251,  252 

New  York,  12  ;  Whig  mobs  in, 
14,  107  ;  political  parties  in, 
26  ;  special  committees  in,  64  ; 
difficulties  of  its  committee- 
men,  68  ;  strength  of  Loyalists 
in,  75,  88,  89  ;  representatives 
in  -Congress  oppose  indepen 
dence,  100 ;  continued  struggle 
in,  ioi,  103,  104 ;  details  of 
the  political  struggle  in,  108, 
116,  120  ;  religion  in  the  poli 
tics  of,  109,  113;  authorizes 
the  punishment  of  Tories,  121; 
disarms,  122-126  ;  refuge,  128  ; 
test  laws  of,  132  ;  effect  of  the 
loss  of  the  city  of,  156  ;  the 
frontier  terrorized  by  Tories, 
1 66 ;  furnishes  British  army 
15,000  men,  182 ;  8,000 
militia,  183 ;  Arnold's  regi 
ment  organized  in,  188 ;  at- 


354 


INDEX. 


tacks    Tory     lawyers,     195  ; 
threatens   death   to   those   ac 
knowledging     King     George, 
200  ;  urged  to  stop  the  trading 
with  the  British,  205  ;  seizure 
of  Tories   in,    220,   221  ;    re 
moves  the  families  of  refugees, 
223  ;  Lee  sent  to,  225  ;  sends  j 
its  Tories  to  Connecticut,  226  ; 
proscribes  60  Tories,  240  ;  as 
a    city  of  refuge,   243  ;    treat 
ment  of  Tories  in,    248-251  ; 
trial  of  Tories  for  treason  in,  I 
271;    Loyalists   compelled   to 
make   good    the   robberies   in  j 
their  vicinity,  274  ;  proceeds  of  j 
confiscation  in,  280  ;  Loyalists 
concentrate  in  the   city,   289  ; 
evacuation  of,   289,   293-296  ; 
"Trespass    Act"     in,     295;! 
many  Tories  remain  in  the  city,  j 
298  ;  greatest  number  of  Tories  | 
come  from,  302 
Niagara,  as  Tory  refuge,  298 
Non-associators,     treatment     of,  j 
78,  79,  121  ;  to  be  disarmed,  | 

122 

Non-importation,     31,     32,    34 ; 
resolved    upon  by  the   Conti-  j 
nental  Congress,  69  ;   opposed 
by  Tories,    70 ;    approved  by 
the  Livingston  party,  115 

Non-jurors,  136,  138,  139 

Norfolk,  Va.,  99 

North,  Lord,  18,  152 

North  Carolina,  65,   76,    79,   80, 
81,    82,    88 ;     takes   decisive 
action    for   independence,   96, 
97  ;    test   laws   of,    132,    134  ;  j 
uprising  of    Tories    in,    167  ; 
Tories  defeated  in,  184;  social 
ostracism  of  Tories,  214  ;  exile 
and   imprisonment    of    Tories 
captured    at    Moore's    Creek, 
217-219;      sends     Tories     to  I 
South  Carolina,  226  ;  banishes  i 
Tories,  237,  240 


Northwest,  Tories  aid  in  defence 

of,  184 

Norwalk,  burning  of,  177 
Nova  Scotia,  59  ;  described  by 
derisive  Whigs,  281,  294 ; 
Loyalist's  description  of,  293, 
294  ;  as  place  of  refuge,  299  ; 
the  English  claim  commission 
ers  go  to,  302  ;  Loyalists  re 
fugees  in,  304-307 

Q LIVER,  Thomas,  36 

^  Organization,  by  the  Tories, 
(see  association),  54,  55,  81  ; 
under  loyal  leaders,  165,  166  ; 
mistaken  delay  in,  167,  en 
couraged  by  British  concessions, 
1 68  ;  for  mutual  aid,  in  New- 
York,  244,  262 

Ostracism,  social,  of  the  Loyalists, 
38,  39,  41,  42,  82,  213,  214, 
215,  241 

Outlawry  of  Tories,  193 

PAINE,  Thomas,  95  ;  advises 
confiscation,  277. 
Paine,  Timothy,  38 
Parliament,    passes    Townshend 
measures,  8  ;  question  of  send 
ing  representatives  to,  9,  10 ; 
complaints  against,  1 6  ;  passes 
the  five  acts,  19 

Pamphleteers,  work  of,  in  arous 
ing  party  spirit,  9,  12,  13,  16, 
17,  21,  23,  42,49,  61,  65,  70, 
89,  9i>  93,  "3 

Parole,  of  Tories,  216,  232-237 
Particularism,  118,  244,  262 
Partizan  feeling,   causes  of,   43, 
44,  67,   78,   79,  98,  99,    107, 

I09-II5,     122,    152-156,     173, 

174,  175,  182;  intensity  of, 
190-192,  197,  234,  297  ;  per- 
sistence  after  war,  297,  298 

Patriots,  see  Whigs 

Peace,  the  treaty  of,  267  ;  terms 
of,  as  to  the  Loyalists,  286  ; 


INDEX. 


355 


compromise  in  the  making  of, 
287  ;  denounced,  287,  288 

Penn,  Richard,  94 

Pennsylvania,  no  Tory  associa 
tions  in,  85  ;  its  delegates  in 
Congress  oppose  indepen 
dence,  100 ;  political  cam 
paign  in  101,  102  ;  test  laws 
in,  133  ;  exempts,  133  ;  few 
signers  in,  139,  142  ;  Loyalist 
centers  in,  160  ;  "Volunteers 
of  Ireland"  raised  in,  186 ; 
laws  against  Tories  in,  194, 
195  ;  attacks  the  College  of 
Philadelphia,  196 ;  and  pro 
fessional  men,  197  ;  compul 
sory  military  service  in,  207, 
208  ;  Council  orders  seizure  of 
Tories,  217  ;  sends  Tories  to 
Virginia,  226  ;  banishmemt  of 
Tories  in,  240 ;  law  against 
treason,  269 ;  the  famous 
"Black  List"  of,  269,  270; 
trial  and  execution  of  Roberts 
in,  269,  270  . 

Pensions,  granted  Loyalists  by 
British  Gov't,  255,  260 

Pepperell,  Sir  William,  39 

Persecution,  of  Tories,  46,  47  ; 
nature  of,  48,  60-62,  78,  79  ; 
in  New  York,  121-128,  192- 
200  ;  general,  203,  204,  206- 
212,  226-242  ;  summary  of, 
243,  244,  274  ;  by  attacks  on 
property,  276,  277  ;  after  the 
treaty  of  peace,  295,  296,  297 

Peters,  "Parson,"  61,  no 

Philadelphia,  Loyalists  in,  at 
tacked,  196  ;  British  in,  206  ; 
Tories  quarantined  in,  219  ; 
Loyalists  executed  in,  270,  271 

Pickens,  Colonel,  184 

Pickering,  Timothy,  102 

Pillory,  Loyalists  punished  in, 
205,  274 

Pitt,  William,  Tory  hatred  of, 
265;  plan  of  compensation,  303  j 


Political  ideas  of  Loyalists,  21, 
22,  42,  70,  91,  104,  105,  143, 
245,  252,  253,  254 

Politics,  revolutionary,  87,  88, 
89,  91,  97,  98,  99,  101,  102, 
115  ;  in  New  York,  116-120  ; 
in  general,  152-156,  158,  159 

"  Poplicola,"  12 

Port  Bill,  the  Boston,  19,  22,  23, 
25  ;  Loyal  criticism  of,  30 

Presbyterians,  in  revolutionary 
politics,  112,  113,  114,  115 

Press,  the  use  of,  by  the  Loy 
alists,  27  ;  lack  of  freedom  of, 
66,  198,  199,  200 

Prevost,  General,  185 

Prisons,  where  Tories  were  con 
fined,  230;  treatment  of  Tories 
in,  231  ;  in  Simsbury  mines, 
235-237 

Privateering,  by  the  Tories,  178, 
179  ;  inducements  to,  180;  ap 
proved  by  the  British  govern 
ment,  181 

Property,  destruction  of  the 
Tory,  47,  48  ;  attacks  upon  in 
New  York,  121  ;  attacks  in 
form  of  fines,  136  ;  by  denial 
of  legal  redress,  194  ;  greed 
for  the  Tory,  275  ;  seizure  of, 
275-278  ;  compensation  for 
loss  of,  300-303 

Proscription  of  Tories,  239, 
240 ;  continues  after  peace, 
295 

Proselyting,  by  Whigs,  78,  79, 
81,  82;  by  loyalists,  83,  84, 
148,  152,  157,  198 

"Protesters,"  31;  names  pub 
lished,  33,  40,  42  ;  in  Georgia, 
75  ;  in  New  York,  117 

Provision,  for  refugees,  by  British 
Government,  292,  293,  294, 
298  ;  generosity  of  the,  299  ; 
cost  of,  303  ;  in  Nova  Scotia, 
305 

Puritanism,  71,  72,  110,  114 


356 


INDEX. 


QUAKERS,  as  Loyalists,  102  ; 
favors  granted,  133  ;  aid 
loyal  militia,  171  ;  driven  to 
military  service,  207,  208  ;  ac 
cused  of  Toryism,  210  ;  exiled 
to  Virginia,  226,  227,  228 
Quarantine,  political,  213  ;  by 
confinement  in  the  Loyalist's 
own  house,  218;  in  prison 
and  other  states,  217-219; 
reasons  for,  218,  219,  222  ;  in 
Massachusetts,  Virginia  and 
New  York,  220 ;  in  South 
Carolina  and  Connecticut,  221, 
222  ;  seizure  and,  of  Tories, 
223,  Washington  approves  of, 
224  ;  in  Maryland  and  Dela 
ware,  225  ;  principal  places  of 
exile,  226  ;  treatment  on  the 
way  to,  227-231  ;  life  of 
Tories  in,  232-235  ;  Riving- 
ton's  comment  upon,  262 ; 
laws  for  the  purpose  of,  331- 

333, 
Quebec,    as    a    Loyalist    refuge, 

298 ;     claim    commission    in, 

302 
Queens  County,  N.  Y.,  89,  119, 

123  ;  intercourse  with,  cut  off, 

215 

RAWDON,    the    Tory  leader, 
186 
Reasons,  for   loyalty,    3,    6,    10, 

12,    17,  20,  21,  22,  25,  26,  32, 

33,  70,71,  73,  89,  107,  112, 
150,  185,  186  ;  nationality  as 
one  of  the,  303 

Recantation,  demanded  of  the 
Tories,  46  ;  effect  of,  66 

Reconcentration  camps  (see  quar 
antine  ) 

Recruiting,  of  Loyalist,  165-168  ; 
advertisements  of  officers,  17°, 
171  ;  of  privateersmen,  180, 
181  ;  by  Benedict  Arnold, 
1 88 


Refugees,  43,  46  ;  their  pride 
in  America,  51  ;  protected  in 
Boston,  52 ;  leave  Boston, 

57-59 ;  list  °f,  59  »  to  New 
York,  128 ;  not  allowed  to 
take  oath,  133  ;  on  account  of 
oath,  140  ;  to  New  York,  146  ; 
join  the  British  army,  165,  242  ; 
organize  under  loyal  leaders, 
1 66  ;  urged  to  enlist,  169  ;  as 
marauders,  174-176;  the  Loyal 
associated,  177 ;  value  of,  as 
marauders,  178;  enlisted  as 
privateers,  179,  180  ;  at  Cam- 
den,  1 86  ;  from  Yorktown, 
189  ;  societies,  of  244  ;  rendez 
vous  of,  in  New  York,  245  ; 
sufferings  in  New  York,  254, 
255  ;  provision  for  by  the 
British  Government,  255  ;  in 
England,  256-259  ;  charity 
work  for,  260,  261 
Regulating  act,  19 ;  Whig 
opinion  of,  23  ;  Loyal  criticism 
of,  30  ;  attempt  to  inaugurate, 

Relations  between  the  British 
and  Loyalists,  246-251 

Religion,  in  revolutionary  poli 
tics,  25,27,  71,  102,  109-115  ; 
as  an  excuse  from  military  ser 
vice,  206,  207 

Renegades,  Tories  as,  161 

Representation,  Loyalist  view  of, 
9,  10 

Restitution  of  Loyalist  property, 
provision  in  treaty  for,  286 

Retaliation,  Loyalists  and  Patriots 
resort  to,  175,  176,  182,  184, 
187 

Revolution,  the  American,  theory 
of,  158,  159 

Rhode  Island,  99,  125,  132,  135, 
150,  153,  177 ;  laws  against 
Tories  in,  194  ;  urged  to  stop 
the  trading  with  British,  205  ; 
law  for  the  relief  of  tender  con- 


INDEX. 


357 


sciences,  206,  207  ;  experience 
of  a  Tory  in,  233-235  ;  passes 
prescriptive  act,  240 

Richmond  County,  N.  Y.,  119, 
216 

Rivington,  James,  12,  13,  151, 
156,  161  ;  defends  the  Tory 
delay  in  arming,  167  ;  pub 
lishes  Tory  letters,  169  ;  com 
ments  on  Tory  militia,  172  ; 
"yellow  journalism"  of,  I75> 
176,  178,  251  ;  denounced, 
252,  stimulates  the  Loyalists, 
253  ;  praises  the  charity  for 
refugees,  262  ;  on  the  amuse 
ments  of  the  Loyalists,  264  ; 
reports  treaty  of  peace,  286  ; 
his  apology  ridiculed,  290, 
291 

Roberts,  a  Philadelphia  Loyalist, 
executed,  270,  271 

Robertson,  General,  173,  250 

Rotch,  the  owner  of  the  tea- 
ships,  15 

Ruggles,  Timothy,  35,  55,  73, 
74 

OT.  JOHN,  the  island  of,  as  a 

^  place  of  refuge,  292,  306  ; 
claim  commissioners  at,  302 

St.  Leger,  with  Tories,  defeated, 
1 66 

Savannah,  184,  185  ;  evacuation 
of,  288,  289 

Schuyler,  General,  125 

Scotch,  the,  as  Tories,  79  ;  the 
Highlanders  of  North  Caro 
lina,  96  ;  in  Georgia,  96  ;  in 
Virginia,  99  ;  a  Tory  regiment 
of,  165 

"  Scotus  Americanus,"  169 

Seabury,  the  Tory  pamphleteer, 
116 

Sears,  Isaac,  136 

Services  of  the  Tories  to  the 
British,  148,  149,  150,  151, 
I52,  1S7,  159,  160,  161,  162, 


174,   175,   179,  l8o»   190-192, 
204,  205 
Sewell,  Jonathan,  Loyalist,  258, 

259 

Shelburne,  Nova  Scotia,  Loyal 
ists  in,  304 

Simsbury  mines,  235-237 
South  Carolina,  95  ;  struggle  for 
independence  in,  98 ;  clergy 
in,  in  ;  test  laws  of,  132, 
134  ;  internecine  war  in,  184  ; 
effect  of  Clinton's  proclama 
tion  in,  1 86  ;  Ferguson's  de 
feat  in,  187  ;  governor  given 
power  to  seize  Tories,  221  ; 
sends  Tories  to  N.  C.,  226  ; 
banishment  of  Tories  from, 
240  ;  Tory  restitution  for  rob 
bery  in,  274  ;  second  state  in 
number  of  Loyalist  claimants, 

3°3 

Speech,  freedom  of,  denied  Tories, 
198,  199,  2OO,  20 1  ;  laws 
against  freedom  of,  327-329 

Spies,  Tories  as,  204,  205 

Stamp  Act,  7,  108 

Statistics  as  to  the  Loyalists,  29, 
30,  33,  59,  82,  88,  96,  in, 
157,  160,  172,  173,  182,  183, 
186,  188,  255,  261,  269,  271, 
280,  288,  289,  293,  299,  300- 

303 

Suffolk  County,  resolves  of,  41 
Sumter,  the  Patriot  leader,  185, 

186,  187 

Support,  of  Loyalists,  by  British, 
181  ;  necessity  for,  254  ;  cost 
to  the  British,  255  ;  unjust 
apportionment,  260,  292,  298, 
299-303 

'TARLETON,  the  Tory  leader, 
A      185,    186,    187,    188,    190, 

297 

Tarring,  and  feathering,  2,  61, 
80,  208,  241  ;  after  the  treaty 
of  peace,  295 


353 


INDEX. 


Taxation,  Loyalist  position  in  re 
gard  to,  9,  10,  70 ;  in  New 
York,  115,  116;  under  the 
Whig  regime,  252  ;  Tories 
double  and  treble  taxed,  275 

Tea,  duty  on,  9  ;  ruse  to  get  it 
used  in  America,  II,  12  ;  com 
missioners,  13,  14 ;  agitation 
over,  in  Boston,  15,  16  ;  dan 
ger  of  using,  17;  Tories  pro 
pose  paying  for  the  "  Party," 
20,  93  ;  burning  of,  60  ;  im 
portation  prohibited  by  Con 
gress,  69  ;  tax  on,  condoned, 
70 ;  attitude  toward,  in  New 
York,  115  ;  ridiculed,  252 

"Test  laws,"  purpose  of,  130; 
evolution  of,  131,  132; 
methods  of  executing,  133- 
138;  difficulties  of  administra 
tion,  138,  139  ;  evasion  of, 
140 ;  changing  fortunes  of, 
141  ;  criticisms  of,  142,  143  ; 
justification  of,  144,  145,  anal 
ysis  of  all  passed  in  America, 
318-326 

Tory  (see  Loyalist),  popular  de 
finition  of,  192 

"  Tory  Rangers,"  1 66 

Townshend,  measures  of,  8 

Trade,  with  England  forsworn, 
32,  34,  69,  70 

Treason,  Whig  definition  of,  100, 
176  ;  of  Arnold,  1 88  ;  Tories 
charged  with,  268,  269  ;  Rob 
erts  and  Carlisle  tried  and  ex 
ecuted  for,  270,  271  ;  Wash 
ington's  attitude,  272,  W7higs 
disapprove  trying  for,  272, 
273  ;  laws  against,  333-335 

"Trespass  Act,"  295,  296 

Try  on,  Governor,  opinion  of 
Whig  committees,  67  ;  laments 
anarchy  in  New  York,  119  ;  a 
refugee,  1 20 ;  urged  to  aid 
Tories,  125  ;  schemes  and 
plots  of,  1 60,  161  ;  Major 


Gen'l  of  the  Loyalist  forces, 
1 68  ;  supports  the  refugee  re 
solves,  177;  asks  for  letters  of 
marque  and  reprisal,  179  ;  op 
poses  civil  government  for 
Tories  in  New  York,  250 
Tyranny  of  Whig  committees, 
66,  79,  80,  121,  125,  221 

TTNION,  Tory  desire  for,  106, 

U      307 

United    Empire    Loyalists,    307 

VALLEY  Forge,  206 

*  Van  Schaack,   Peter,    142- 

144 
Vernon,  Thomas,  life  of,  in  exile, 

233-235 

Vincennes,  184 

Virginia,  65,  95  ;  independence 
in,  98,  99 ;  religion  in  the 
politics  of,  112  ;  test  laws  of, 
132,  134  ;  Loyalist  centers  in, 
1 60  ;  Arnold  in,  1 88  ;  seizure 
of  Tories  in,  220,  223  ;  Tories 
exiled  to,  226  ;  treble-taxes  the 
Tories,  275  ;  defends  confisca 
tion,  280 

WARREN,  Joseph,  31 

•  *      Washington,        George, 
chosen  commander-in-chief,  50; 
comment  on  Tory  refugees,  56, 
57  ;  uncertain  of  the  wisdom  of 
independence,    93  ;    urges  the 
seizure  of  Tories,  125  ;  approves 
disarmment   of    Tories,     126 ; 
moves    to     New    York,    126  ; 
plot  against  the  life    of,  127  ; 
demands    oath    of   allegiance, 
129  ;  denounced   for  demand 
ing  an  oath,  141,    142  ;  com 
plains    of    Tory     proselyting, 
149 ;    the    Lieut.    General   of 
France,  155  ;  plot  against,  by 
Tryon,      161  ;    at    Yorktown, 
189,     approves     severe     laws 


INDEX. 


359 


against  Tories,  211  ;  retreat  of,  ] 
217  ;   orders   Putnam  to  seize  i 
Tories  on  Long  Island,   223  ;  j 
approves  of  seizure  and  impris-  j 
onment  of  Tories,   223,    224  ;  j 
canards      concerning,       251  ;  j 
opinion   of  trying   Tories   for 
treason,  271  ;  orders  protection 
of    Tory  property,    277  ;    ap-  | 
proves  confiscation,  281 
Watson,  George,  38 
"  Westchester  Farmer,"  70 
West    Indies,    as   a    refuge    for  j 

Tories,  243 

Whigs,  necessity  of  action  by,  2,  ; 
3;   intolerance  of,  6,    14,  15,  | 
77  ;  on  the  subject  of  taxation,  j 
10,  16,  17  ;   their  opinions  of  j 
the   Regulating  Act  and  Port ; 
Bill,  22,  23  ;  use  of  the  press  j 
by  the,  27  ;  rebuke  the  "ad 
dressers,"  29  ;  League  of,  31,  | 
32  ;    publish   names  of   "  ad-  i 
dressers,"    33;   persecute  the  j 
Tories,    35-42,    45-4^  ;   gain  ; 
confidence,  49,   50;  Tory  j 
opinion  of,   52  ;    threaten  the  j 
Tories,  60  ;  invent  the  commit-  ! 
tee  system,  62-64 ;   compared 
with  Jacobins,  66  ;   their  com- 1 
mittee-men  hated,  67,  68  ;  as-  , 
sociation  of,  69,  70  ;  not  bound 
by  association  as  were  Tories, 
72,  73;  intolerance  of,  74,  190; 
armed  association  of,   75,  76, 
77  ;   force  the   Tories  into  the 
association,    79 ;    methods  of, 
80  ;  reason  for  success,  81,  85; 
disdained  by  the  Tories,  87  ; 
their  method  of  appointing  the 
delegates  to  Congress,  87,  88  ; 
appoint    delegates   from    New 
York,    89  ;    their   reliance  on 
Congress,  90  ;   reason  for  suc 
cess  in  getting  people   to  ap 
prove   of    independence,    92  ; 
leaders  of,  late  to  approve  inde 


pendence,    93  ;    their  struggle 
in   Congress,    94,    95,  96  ;  in 
North    Carolina,    96,    97;    in 
Georgia,     97,     98  ;    in    South 
Carolina,     98;     in    Virginia, 
98;  define     "treason,"     100 ; 
gain   adherents   for     indepen 
dence,    101  ;   act     strenuously 
in    Pennsylvania,    102  ;    their 
active  campaign  in  Maryland, 
103  ;      alarmed     at     idea     of 
independence,   106  ;  disregard 
of    conservatism,      107  ;     the 
religion    of,     110-115  ;    their 
campaign  in  New  York,  116- 
121  ;   exile   the  Tories,    123  ; 
success   in   New    York,    127  ; 
make     test     laws,     129-139; 
refuse  test  oath,  139  ;  oppose 
test,    140 ;    defend   test  laws, 
144-145  ;  ridicule  Tory    ser 
vice  to  the  British,  147,  148  ; 
denounced    for     making     the 
French  alliance,  153715°  5  not 
a  "desperate  minority,"  158, 
159  ;    cause  of  their   victory, 
159  ;  enraged  because  of  Tory 
services   to   the  British,  161  ; 
their  fear  of  Tory  insurrections, 
162  ;  raids  on,  174,  175,  182  ; 
carry  on  internecine  war  with 
Tories,  184  ;  bitterly  denounce 
the  Tories,  190-192  ;  nature  of 
the  patriotism   of  some,  204  ; 
mercenary  traits  of,  206  ;  de 
fend  severe  laws  against  Tories, 
211,212;  ostracise  the  Tories, 
214 ;   quarantine   the    Tories, 
216-223  ;    their  treatment   of 
exiled  Tories,  224-237;  banish 
the    Tories,    237-242  ;   better 
treated  by  the  British  «kan  the 
Tories,     248  ;    denounced   by 
Tories,  252  ;  Tory  character 
ization  of,    253,  254  ;    on  the 
trial  of  Tories  for  treason,  271, 
272  ;  charge  Tories  with  out- 


IXDEX. 


rages,      294  ;     persecute    the 

Tories   after   the    war,     294  ; 

pass  "Trespass  Act,"  296,  297 

Williams,  Colonel,  186  ;     Israel 

35,  36 

Wilmot,  commissioner  on  Loyal 
ist  claims,  302 


Wright,    "  Governor,"    97, 

185 
Wyoming,  the  valley  of  the, 

297 


VORKTOWN, 
189 


surrender 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

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DAVIS 


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°072  • 


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LD2lA-50m-2,'71 
(P2001slO)476 — A-32 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

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